Study Ketubot folio 97B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
However, what is the reason that a widow from betrothal may sell property when not in court? Ulla said: Due to desirability. The rabbis enacted several ordinances on behalf of women, so that men will want to marry them. R' Yoḥanan said: Because a man does not want his wife to be disgraced by being
The Talmud asks: What is the practical difference between the two opinions? The Talmud answers: The practical difference between them is in the case of a divorcée. According to the one who says that it is due to desirability, a divorcée also requires desirability. But according to the one who says
We learned in the Mishnah (97b): And a divorcée may sell only in court. The Talmud asks: Granted, according to the one who says that this is because a man does not want his wife to be disgraced in court, here he does not care if his ex-wife is disgraced. However, according to the one who says that
The Talmud answers: In accordance with whose opinion is this continuation of the Mishnah? It is according to the opinion of R' Shimon in the Mishnah, who explains that anyone who is selling property to receive payment of her marriage contract and not for sustenance is required to sell only in court,
The Talmud asks: If this is according to the opinion of R' Shimon, then wasn’t it already taught in the first clause that a widow from betrothal sells only in court because she does not receive sustenance? Since the same reasoning applies to a divorcée, why would the Mishnah have to teach the halak