• Man's obligations to his wife — ketubah and its guarantee, redemption from captivity and medical expenses
• Woman married to a non-kohen who is violated
• Redemption from captivity of a woman he cannot retain as a wife
• Limitations on funds for redemption of any Jewish captive and on a wife
• Propriety of advising a litigant how to plead his case in court
• Other obligations to a wife and her children
• Disowning an heir
• When a woman loses her right to collect the ketubah or her support
• Adding to or subtracting from the sum which the Sages set for a ketubah
• Circumstantial evidence (umdanah) in determining financial litigation
• When the Sages made their decrees stricter than Torah Law.
• Time period allotted to a man and woman to prepare for marriage in days when kiddushin and marriage were separated in time

The Aristocracy of Silence

"The aristocrats refrained from speaking and placed their hands on their mouths." (Iyov 29:9)

This is the passage that the Sage Rav applied to another distinguished Torah Sage, the father of the Sage Shmuel.

The background for this exchange was a ruling by Shmuel's father that was challenged by Rav. Although there was a possibility for refuting this challenge Shmuels' father chose to remain silent.

There is no indication in our gemara that this silence indicated a concession on the part of Shmuels' father that his position was indeed wrong. We are therefore left with a mystery as to why he refrained from defending his position. It is also difficult to understand what Rav meant in comparing his colleague's silence to the scriptural silence of aristocrats for it is unthinkable that he was gloating over having stumped such a respected colleague.

It appears that there is some subtle aristocracy in maintaining silence in particular situations that only such great Torah scholars as Shmuels' father and Rav were capable of appreciating.

"Do not disown an heir, even to disown an evil son in favor of a good one, because you do not know what the children of the disowned one will be like."

• The Sage Shmuel advising his disciple Rabbi Yehuda - Ketubot 53a

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