Further Experiments in Halachic Talmudic Sugya Layout: Wedding Gift Obligation Rules (Bava Batra 145)

This passage is from yesterday’s Daf Yomi.¹

Outline

1. Legal and Financial Rules Governing Shushvinut (שושבינות): Perspectives on Wedding Gift Obligations

2. Equitable Reciprocity in Groomsman Obligations: Principles, Adjustments, and Contextual Variations

   1. Attending the Wedding

   2. Adjustments to Reciprocation

   3. Situations of Unequal Reciprocity

The Passage

Bava_Batra.145a.15-145b.7

Legal and Financial Rules Governing Shushvinut (שושבינות): Perspectives on Wedding Gift Obligations

This passage discusses the legal status of shushvinut (שושבינות - gifts exchanged between groomsmen in the context of weddings) in Jewish law, as detailed in the Talmud. 

Five key rulings about these gifts are presented in a baraita. Rulings #1,3-5 are grounded by the Talmud in legal reasoning, aligning these gifts with specific categories (e.g., loans or future inheritance) and exempting them from others, such as interest or the laws of the Sabbatical Year.:

1. Collectible in court: These gifts are treated like loans, meaning that if a dispute arises, they can be litigated and enforced by a court.

2. Reciprocated at the relevant time: Gifts are returned only when the original giver has their own wedding, ensuring fairness in timing.

3. Not subject to the prohibition of interest (רבית): Reciprocating with a more valuable gift is permitted because it is done out of joy and goodwill, not with financial gain in mind.

4. Not abrogated by the Sabbatical Year (שביעית): The Sabbatical Year cancels debts, but not shushvinut gifts because they are not immediately collectible, making them exempt from the laws of debt release.

5. The firstborn (בכור) does not take a double portion: These gifts are considered a potential future inheritance (not tangible property at the time of death), so the firstborn does not receive an enhanced share.

שהשושבינות נגבית בבית דין. 

תנו רבנן: 

חמשה דברים נאמרו בשושבינות: 

1. נגבית בבית דין, 

2. וחוזרת בעונתה, 

3. ואין בה משום רבית, 

4. ואין השביעית משמטתה, 

5. ואין הבכור נוטל בה פי שנים.

1. נגבית בבית דין –

   1. מאי טעמא? כמלוה דמיא. 

3. ואין בה משום רבית –

   1. דלאו אדעתא דהכי יהב ליה. 

4. ואין השביעית משמטתה –

   1. דלא קרינא ביה: ״לא יגש״.

5. ואין הבכור נוטל פי שנים –

   1. דהוה ליה ראוי, ואין הבכור נוטל בראוי כבמוחזק.

The mishna teaches: If the gifts of groomsmen are reciprocated after the father’s death, they are reciprocated to the middle, because gifts of groomsmen are a legal debt owed to the father, collectible in court.

The Sages taught (Tosefta 10:8):

Five statements were said with regard to gifts of groomsmen:

1. They are collectible in court;

2. and they are reciprocated only at their relevant time, i.e., at the time of the groomsman’s own wedding;

3. and they are not subject to the prohibition of interest, i.e., it is permitted to reciprocate with a gift of greater value than the original gift;

4. and the Sabbatical Year does not abrogate them;

5. and the firstborn does not take a double portion of them.

1. The baraita states that gifts of groomsmen are collectible in court.

   1. What is the reason for this? It is that they are considered similar to a loan.

3. The baraita states: And they are not subject to the prohibition of interest.

   1. The reason is that it was not with that in mind that he gave him a larger gift. Rather, he did so on account of his joy at his friend’s wedding.

4. The baraita states: And the Sabbatical Year does not abrogate them.

   1. The reason is that one cannot read the verse concerning the abrogation of debts during the occurrence of the Sabbatical Year: “He shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed” (Deuteronomy 15:2), with regard to gifts of groomsmen. Since one cannot choose to exact the gifts until the time of one’s own wedding, they are not addressed by this verse.

5. The baraita states: And the firstborn does not take a double portion from them.

   1. The reason is that they constitute potential inheritance, and the firstborn does not take in inheritance the property due the deceased as he does the property the deceased possessed.

Equitable Reciprocity in Groomsman Obligations: Principles, Adjustments, and Contextual Variations

Attending the Wedding

1. If the recipient of a previous gift was in town when the groomsman wed, he is obligated to attend or send gifts.

2. If he was nearby and heard the announcement of the wedding (טבלא - drum), he must attend.

3. If he was far away and uninformed, the groom has a duty to notify him. If not, the recipient has a grievance but is still obligated to reciprocate.

אמר רב כהנא: 

כללא דשושבינותא: 

1. הוה במתא – איבעי ליה למיתא. 

2. שמע קל טבלא – איבעי ליה למיתא. 

3. לא שמע קל טבלא – איבעי ליה לאודועיה; תרעומת אית ליה, שלומי משלם.

Rav Kahana said: 

The principle with regard to the reciprocation of gifts of groomsmen is: 

1. If the recipient was in town when his groomsman wed, he should have come to the wedding, and even if he did not come, he is obligated to send the gifts of groomsmen. 

2. If he was not in town, but he was nearby and he heard the sound of the drum announcing the wedding, he should have come. 

3. If he was far away and did not hear the sound of the drum, the betrothed man should have informed him. If he did not inform him, the recipient has a grievance against the betrothed man because he did not inform him about the wedding, but he still repays the gifts of groomsmen.

Adjustments to Reciprocation

Abaye explains deductions based on the original gift:

1. Gifts up to 1 dinar: No repayment needed.

2. Gifts up to 4 dinars: Half is repaid.

3. Gifts beyond 4 dinars: Repayment depends on the giver’s prominence and the expenses the original host would have incurred.

ועד כמה? 

אמר אביי: 

נהגו בני גננא:

1. עד זוזא – אייתא בכפיה אכליה בכרסיה. 

2. עד ארבעה – משלם פלגא. 

3. מכאן ואילך – איניש איניש כחשיבותיה.

In this case, since he did not partake of the wedding feast, he is entitled to deduct a sum from the reciprocal gift. The Gemara asks: And up to how much can he deduct? 

Abaye said: 

The members of a wedding feast were accustomed to deduct according to the following principle: 

1. If the gift of groomsmen that the reciprocal giver received was up to a dinar, he now pays nothing, because what a person brings in his hand he consumes in his stomach. 

2. If the gift of groomsmen was up to four dinars, he now pays half. 

3. From that sum onward, each person deducts according to his prominence, i.e., in accordance with the outlay that would have been required to honor the reciprocal giver properly, had he participated in the wedding feast.

Situations of Unequal Reciprocity

A baraita outlines permissible refusals when reciprocity conditions differ:

1. Public (פומבי) vs. Private (צנעא) Weddings: If the original service was at a public wedding, the recipient can refuse to reciprocate at a private wedding and demand parity.

2. Marriage of a Virgin (בתולה) vs. a Widow (אלמנה): If the recipient served for a virgin’s wedding, he can demand the same in return and refuse to serve for a widow’s wedding.

3. First vs. Second Marriage: A recipient who served for a second marriage may refuse to reciprocate for a first marriage, offering instead to serve for a future second marriage.

4. One Wife vs. Two Wives (i.e. polygamous marriage): If the original service was for a wedding with one wife, the recipient may refuse to reciprocate for a double wedding and limit his service to one bride, matching the original circumstances.

תנו רבנן: 

1. עשה עמו בפומבי, ובקש לעשות עמו בצנעא –

   1. יכול לומר לו: בפומבי אעשה עמך, כדרך שעשית עמי. 

2. עשה עמו בבתולה, ובקש לעשות עמו באלמנה –

   1. יכול לומר לו: בבתולה אעשה עמך, כדרך שעשית עמי.

3. עשה עמו בשניה, ובקש לעשות עמו בראשונה –

   1. יכול לומר לו: לכשתשא אשה אחרת, אעשה עמך. 

4. עשה עמו באחת, ובקש לעשות עמו בשתים –

   1. יכול לומר לו: באחת אעשה עמך, כדרך שעשית עמי.

The Sages taught (Tosefta 10:9): 

1. If one served as groomsman for his friend at a public [pumbei] wedding, and when the groomsman himself wed, he requested that his friend reciprocate by serving as a groomsman for him at a private wedding,

   1. the friend can say to him: I am willing to reciprocate and serve as groomsman for you only at a public wedding, where the rejoicing is greater, in the manner you served as a groomsman for me. 

2. If one served as a groomsman for his friend when he married a virgin, and he requested that his friend reciprocate by serving as a groomsman for him when he marries a widow,

   1. the friend can say to him: I shall serve as a groomsman for you only when you marry a virgin, in the manner you served as a groomsman for me.

3. If one served as a groomsman for his friend when he married a second wife, and he requested that his friend reciprocate by serving as a groomsman for him when he marries a first wife,

   1. the friend can say to him: When you marry another woman I will serve as a groomsman for you. 

4. If one served as a groomsman for his friend when he married one woman, and he requested that his friend reciprocate by serving as a groomsman for him when he marries two women,

   1. the friend can say to him: I will serve as a groomsman for you when you marry one woman, in the manner you served as a groomsman for me.

1. The sugya is notably composed of sections with a particularly structured format, making it especially suitable for presentation as numbered lists (one section even includes explicit numbering: “Five statements were said with regard to gifts of groomsmen“).

Thanks to DS for inspiring me to work on this.

For some of my other pieces on making Talmud more accessible, see here, section “Accessible Talmud”.