Responsa for Ketubot 85:7
למימרא דבתו עדיפא ליה מאלמנתו והאמר רבי אבא א"ר יוסי עשו אלמנה אצל הבת כבת אצל אחין בנכסין מועטין
That is to say that a man’s daughter is preferable to him than his widow? But did not R. Abba said in the name of R. Yose: They made a widow and her daughter like a daughter and her brothers in the case of a small estate: just as in the case of the relationship between a daughter and her brothers, the daughter is maintained while the brothers can go begging at [people’s] doors, so also in the case of the relationship between a widow and her daughter, the widow is maintained and the daughter can go begging at [people’s] doors.
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. A died leaving several bad debts (investments). Since these debts are worth very little, may A's widow and daughter use the money exclusively for their own sustenance, while A's sons may be forced to go begging from door to door?
A. The law, which provides that daughters be entitled to derive their sustenance from movables left by their father, was instituted by the Geonim. Male and female orphans were placed by them on an equal footing in regard to such movables.
SOURCES: Cr. 267; Mordecai Hagadol, p. 183a; ibid. p. 322d.
A. The law, which provides that daughters be entitled to derive their sustenance from movables left by their father, was instituted by the Geonim. Male and female orphans were placed by them on an equal footing in regard to such movables.
SOURCES: Cr. 267; Mordecai Hagadol, p. 183a; ibid. p. 322d.
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