Ketubot 60 - September 4, 8 Elul

This week's daf is sponsored by Carolyn Hochstadter in loving memory of Fred Hochstadter's 8th yahrzeit. "We miss you every day, Dad, Saba & Great-Saba. With lots of love, Carolyn, Adam, Michal, Josh, Benny, Izzy, Shim, Zoe & Yehuda."

Today's daf is sponsored by the Levant and Dickson families. "Wishing our daughters, Dalia Dickson and Miriam Levant a giyus kal as they start the army today! May Hashem watch over them and may they have a safe and meaningful service." 

One of the responsibilities a woman has to her husband is to nurse their child. However, if they get divorced, she does not need to. But if the child recognizes the mother and will not nurse from another woman, the husband can insist she nurse the child, but needs to pay her to do it. The rabbis debate what is the age at which a child can recognize its own mother. A mother is allowed to nurse her child until the child reaches a certain age. There is a debate regarding the age limit. Beyond that age, it is as if the child is nursing from a non-kosher animal. This is contradicted by a braita that infers that breast milk is kosher, as is human blood. The Gemara differentiates between breast milk that is removed from the mother’s body (permitted to eat) and has not been removed (forbidden, other than to a young child). One who is sick and needs milk and cannot find it elsewhere can suck milk from a kosher animal on Shabbat, even though it is forbidden as it is an act of extracting, a sub-category of the melacha of dash, threshing, as it is done here in an unusual manner and is needed for one who is sick. One who stopped nursing after 24 months and goes back to nurse is also not permitted. How many days is considered having stopped? Suppose one became a widow during the 24-month nursing period. In that case, she cannot get engaged or remarried during that time as she may become pregnant and her milk will dry up and her new husband will not necessarily be willing to pay for the child to be nursed as it is not his child. Others say the waiting period is 18 months (debate between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda, and also between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel).  Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that since it takes three months for the milk to dry up, each opinion allows her to get married three months earlier. Abaye made the mistake of ruling like the more lenient opinion but then heard from Rav Yosef that one needs to wait the full 24 months. He tried to run after the person he permitted to marry earlier but had to run through sand dunes and couldn’t catch up to him. He then taught that one should never permit anything when he is in the vicinity of his teacher. If the woman hired a wet nurse or the child died, can she remarry earlier? Is there a reason to distinguish between these two situations? Is a woman hired as a wet nurse permitted to nurse her child or someone else’s as well?  If the family who hired a wet nurse committed to giving her some food, but not enough, does she have to make sure to eat more? And if so, who pays for it? What foods are good/bad for nursing mothers?