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    Chapter 1 · Ways of kiddushin

    Three ways of kiddushin - opening the tractate

    Lesson 1 of 58 18 min

    The opening Mishnah sets the structure of the whole tractate. Learn to read it as a table of contents.

    Lesson goals
    • 01Read the opening Mishnah
    • 02Identify the three ways and the two ways
    • 03Understand the Gemara's question on the word “acquired”
    01

    The source

    Kiddushin 2a
    האשה נקנית בשלש דרכים, וקונה את עצמה בשתי דרכים. נקנית בכסף, בשטר, ובביאה.

    Kiddushin takes effect through money, a document, or relations; release comes through a get or the husband’s death.

    1. 1Separate entering kiddushin from leaving it
    2. 2List the three ways of kiddushin
    3. 3Read the two ways of release in the rest of the Mishnah

    The two ways she “acquires herself” are a get and the husband's death.

    Kushya

    Why does this Mishnah say “the woman is acquired,” while the later Mishnah says “the man betroths”?

    Terutz

    The Gemara connects acquisition language to money and the derivation of taking from Ephron’s field.

    Practice

    Draw a diagram: three ways on one side, two ways on the other.

    Lesson wrap-up

    An opening Mishnah is the blueprint of the tractate.

    Check your understanding

    Test yourself before marking the lesson complete.

    Question 1 of 2

    What are the three ways?

    Next lessonDeriving kiddushin through money