Yerushalmi Ketubot 5:6 ירושלמי כתובות ה׳:ו׳

MISHNAH: These are the kinds of work a woman does for her husband: She grinds flour, bakes, launders, nurses her baby, makes his bed, and spins wool¹³¹The amount is determined in Mishnah 13.. If she brought a slave girl with her¹³²As her dowry., she does not have to grind flour, bake, and launder. Two, she does not have to nurse her baby. Three, she does not have to make his bed or spin wool. Four, she sits in a chair¹³³Greek καθέδρα “chair”. “Sitting in a καθέδρα” means “sitting idle”.. Rebbi Eliezer says, even if she brought him a hundred slave girls, he forces her to spin wool because indolence causes immorality.
Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, also a man who by a vow forbids his wife to work must divorce her and pay her ketubah¹⁶⁴Since the divorce is his fault. since idleness induces mental illness.

HALAKHAH: “These are the kinds of work a woman does for her husband,” etc. It was stated¹³⁴Tosephta 5:4.: Seven main labors did they enumerate; the rest the Sages did not need to specify¹³⁵The Babli (61a) notes that the additional services, such as mixing the wine, a wife does even if otherwise she is “sitting in a chair”..

“She nurses her baby.” Rebbi Ḥaggai said, is says only “her baby,” therefore not twins¹³⁶The singular implies that the husband has to hire a wet-nurse for the second child. Aliassi (§274) quotes this rule in the name of R. Ḥanina.. Why does it say “her baby”? As it was stated¹³⁷Tosephta 5:5, in a different order; a partial quote in the Babli, 59b.: “A man cannot force his wife to nurse another man’s child, nor can a woman force her husband to let her nurse another woman’s child¹³⁸To earn money.. If she made a vow not to nurse her baby, the House of Shammai say that one removes the breast nipple from his mouth¹³⁹The reason of the House of Shammai is not stated. The Babli, 59b, conjectures that the vow is one “between her and him” and, therefore, it would be in the husband’s power to annul the vow (cf. Nedarim Chapter 10). If he does not annul his wife’s vow, he has to pay the wet-nurse., but the House of Hillel say, one forces her¹⁴⁰They always hold that nobody can get rid of his obligations by a vow. The vow does not have to be annulled.. If she was divorced¹⁴¹The obligation to nurse her baby ends with the divorce., one cannot force her if [the baby] is not used to her, but if he is used to her one forces her¹⁴²In Tosephta Niddah 2:5, the formulation is: If the baby recognizes his mother one may not give him to a wet-nurse since that would be a danger to his life. and pays her wages to nurse her baby.” How old is the baby if he can be presumed to know her? Rebbi Jeremiah¹⁴³In the Babli, this is attributed to Rav Jeremiah bar Abba, of Rav’s Academy. Probably something is missing from the text since R. Jeremiah cannot really have addressed his teacher R. Ze‘ira as “you”. in the name of Rav: Three months. But Rebbi Ze‘ira was staring at him¹⁴⁴“Staring at somebody” is always a sign of disapproval.. He asked him, why are you staring at me? Should I say to you following Samuel, since Samuel said, three days¹⁴⁵In the Babli, 60a, Samuel is quoted as refusing to set a time limit but to put the mother in a line-up with other women and see whether the baby recognizes her.? Samuel follows his opinion, since Samuel said, I recognized¹⁴⁶As a newborn. the midwives who delivered me. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, I recognized the circumciser who circumcised me. Rebbi Joḥanan said, I recognized the women who kept my mother company.

It was stated¹⁴⁷Tosephta Niddah 2:3, Babli 60a. In both these texts, one reads: If he stopped after24months, one does not return him. A parallel text in Yerushalmi Niddah 1:5, with a different tradition of names.: A baby suckles continuously until 24 months; after that he is as if an unclean creature would suckle, the words of Rebbi Eliezer. But Rebbi Joshua says, he suckles continuously even four or five years. If he stopped, one does not return him. How long? Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Jeremiah¹⁴⁸This reading is impossible since R. Jacob bar Aḥa is one generation before R. Jeremiah. One must read “Rav Jeremiah”, the colleague and student of Rav. in the name of Rav: From hour to hour¹⁴⁹From a certain hour one day to the same hour the next day, i. e., 24 hours.. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Three days from hour to hour¹⁵⁰In the Babli, 60a, this is attributed to the school of Samuel.. It was stated: From hour to hour. Rebbi Hizqiyah, Rav: When has this been said? If he stopped while being healthy. But if he stopped because of sickness, one does return him. When there was no danger. But if it was because of danger, one returns him even after a number of days¹⁵¹This argument is not mentioned in the Babli which, therefore, can be
assumed to agree..

“If she brought”. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac said, not only if she brought but even if she could have brought¹⁵²If her dowry is large enough to pay for a slave girl. In the Babli, 61a, this is a statement of R. Samuel ben Naḥmani.. As it was stated: His wife ascends with him but does not descend with him¹⁵³This clause is also in the Babli (48a, 61a). It means that if the material circumstances of the husband improve, he has to provide for his wife according to his social standing; but if he loses money, he cannot reduce her standard of living below the level he provided for her at the time of the wedding.; a widow and her children descend but do not ascend¹⁵⁴They are supported from the estate and only have a claim to the lesser amount of the yield of the estate at the time of the husband’s death or now. If the heirs improve the yield of the estate, the improvement is theirs (assuming zero inflation). Similarly, the claim of the daughters to a dowry is limited to 10% of the estate at the time of the father’s death.; workers ascend but do not descend¹⁵⁵The standard contract for journeymen stipulates that the employer must feed the workers (Mishnah Baba Meṣi‘a 7:1); he cannot reduce his contribution below the standard accepted at the beginning of the contract.. The daughter neither ascends nor descends. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Jehudah said, because one cares for the slave girl¹⁵⁶That she should not be overworked. It is difficult to see why the slave girl should be overworked with three types of work but the wife not with seven. In the Babli, 61a, this question is asked and the answer is that the slave girl also has to care for guests.. Rebbi Abun said, Because these labors are degrading, they are referred to as the slave girl’s. Rebbi Judah ben Rebbi Abun said, because usually a woman does not sit aimlessly in her house¹⁵⁷The other things, except grinding flour, baking, and washing, the wife does anyhow.. Rav Huna said, even if she brought him 100 slave girls, he can force her to serve him with particular attention¹⁵⁸A similar statement is in the Babli, 61a.. What are services with particular attention? She rubs his body, washes his feet, and mixes him the cup¹⁵⁹In the Babli, “she mixes his cup, makes his bed, and washes his face and feet.”. Why? Because she is obligated to do that, or because it is not appropriate to use a slave girl for these¹⁶⁰These are intimate services; if a slave girl would perform those, the husband would start to sleep with her.? If you say because it is not appropriate to use a slave girl for these, here she brought him slaves¹⁶¹The Mishnah does not mention that she could have brought a male slave as dowry who could serve as the husband’s valet, to free the wife from personal services.! It must be because she is obligated to do that. Rebbi Eudaimon in Sepphoris asked before Rebbi Mana: Is it not reasonable because she is obligated to do that? He said to him, that is what I am always thinking.

It was stated so: He forces her to work¹⁶²Following R. Eliezer. with wool, but not with flax since that causes bad breath and broadens the lips¹⁶³In Baba Meṣi‘a 1:5, it is stated in more general terms: He can force her to work with wool but not anything else (unless stipulated otherwise in the marriage contract) since the terms of a contractual relationship cannot be changed unilaterally. For the damage that spinning flax does to the lips, cf. the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, die drei Spinnerinnen..