May 12, 2016 08:48
A mishna on today's daf teaches: if a man betroths a woman thinking she
is the daughter of a kohein and it turns out she's the daughter of
a levite only, or the reverse; or he thought she was poor and she
is actually rich, or the reverse -- she is betrothed, because she did not
deceive him. (He failed to properly investigate what he thought to be
true.) On the other hand, if a man says: be thou betrothed... after I
become a proselyte, or after you become a proselyte, or after
you are liberated, or after your husband dies -- in all these cases she
is not betrothed. The g'mara explains why not -- these are actions that
are not in his power. But, the g'mara asks, surely becoming a proselyte
is in his power? No, because you need the approval of a
beit din, a court of three judges. (62a-b)
The g'mara does not here comment that in order to say "after you become
a proselyte", the man must be betrothing a non-Jewish woman (at the time).
I don't know if a betrothal to a future Jew would be held to be
valid, or if the discussion just never gets that far because of the other
issue raised.
daf bits