Commentary for Kiddushin 3:3

1 . And what's the difference there--In the second chapter (41a) where it says "the man betroths himself or with his agent," let it say here: the woman becomes betrothed

"What's different here that we teach 'The woman is acquired'". [Problem:] [The Talmud] should have answered this [objection about why the Mishnah is in passive and not active form] because [the Mishnah] needed to teach at the end "And she acquires herself" [in the active voice], for there it is not fitting for the language of kiddushin but in a case like this it is taught nearby! [In other words, the Mishnah might have used "is acquired" above because it needed to say "acquires" later]. Solution: Rabbenu Manoah says that it could have taught "And she is released in 2 ways", for regarding kiddushin, the language of "release" is fitting. [This is why the Gemara did not use this as an answer to this objection].

2. Because it needs to teach money--that with [money] we aquire, and we said previous (4b) "from where do we know that we can acquire with money," and we explain that we learn "take" "take" from the Field of Efron that we consider it an acquisition. Therefore we learn here that [money] can acquire.

"Because it needed to teach 'money'". And here it is not fitting to object "But he taught two as one!" as [the Talmud] objects later [regarding sex], for the terminology of "acquisition" is fitting also for contract and sex. And one should not be surprised about the terminology of "acquisition", rather because later it taught with the terminology of kiddushin and here it taught with the terminology of acquisition. Alternatively: With a contract we also find the terminology of acquisition, as it is written, "I took the book of acquisition" (Jeremiah 32:11).

The Talmud asks why our mishnah uses the language of “acquisition” whereas other mishnayot use the language of “betrothal (mekadesh)” In other words, why not teach here “a woman is betrothed?”

The word “acquisition” is used because the law that betrothal can be effected with money is derived from the use of the word “taking” in two contexts—betrothal and the transfer of money when Abraham buys the field from Ephron. Since buying something is called an “acquisition” (two prooftexts are cited), taking a woman in betrothal is called, at least by this mishnah, “acquisition.”