Four explanations why Beit Shammai required a dinar TB Kiddushin 11

If a man is using money to effect kiddushin, the Mishnah records: “Beit Shammai say that she can be acquired with one dinar or with anything that is worth one dinar. ” (Sefaria.org translation) Daf TB Kiddushin provides four alternative explanations why Beit Shammai chooses a larger amount than Beit Hillel.

Explanation #1 “Rabbi Zeira says: Their reasoning is that a woman is particular about herself and considers it beneath her dignity to be acquired with a paltry sum, and therefore she will not agree to be betrothed with less than one dinar.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Explanation #2 “Rav Yosef said a different explanation: The reasoning of Beit Shammai is in accordance with that which Rav Yehuda says that Rav Asi says. As Rav Yehuda says that Rav Asi says: Every sum of money mentioned in the Torah is in Tyrian coinage, i.e., dinars from Tyre, which have a high value. And any amount of money set by rabbinic law is measured by provincial coinage. Local currency, i.e., that which existed at the time of the Sages of the Mishna, was worth about one-eighth of the value of Tyrian coinage. Beit Shammai follow the standard sum of the Torah, and the smallest possible amount in Tyrian currency is the silver coin, which is worth one dinar.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Tyrian coinage was larger and heavier than provincial coinage; consequently, it had a greater value. “There were two types of coinage in Judaea during and after the Second Temple period: provincial and Tyrian. The provincial Sela or Shekel had an eighth of the value of the pure silver Tyrian currency[19]. The Talmud states that any specified amount of silver mentioned in the Torah is in Tyrian currency[20]. The value of the Tyrian currency was as follows: A sela is four dinar, a dinar is six ma'ah, known as gerah in the time of Moses[21]. This would mean that a Tyrian Shekel was worth four dinar, while a provincial Shekel was worth half a dinar. The value of the half Shekel Temple tax was thus two dinar or twelve ma’ah. This was due to the fixing of the value of the Shekel to the sela coin that was prevalent that had an increased value by one fifth compared to the value of the Shekel according to the law of Moses (ten ma’ah).” (https://www.oxfordchabad.org/templates/blog/post.asp?aid=708481&PostID=65524&p=1)

Explanation #3 “Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says a different explanation: The reasoning of Beit Shammai, that the minimum amount with which a woman can be betrothed is one dinar, is in accordance with the opinion of Ḥizkiyya. As Ḥizkiyya says that the verse states with regard to a Hebrew maidservant: “Then he shall let her be redeemed” (Exodus 21:8), which teaches that she can deduct an amount from the price of her redemption and leave before her time of slavery is complete. If she comes into possession of money, she can pay the master for her value, less the work she has performed. Beit Shammai derive the halakhot of regular betrothal from the case of a Hebrew maidservant, as explained below.

“Granted, if you say that when she was acquired he gave her at least one dinar, this is the meaning of the statement that she may continually deduct from that amount up to one peruta. But if you say that he gave her one peruta when he purchased her as a maidservant, can she deduct from one peruta? One peruta is already the smallest possible sum of money. The Gemara rejects this argument: But perhaps this is what the Merciful One is saying: In a case where he gave her one dinar, she deducts from that amount up to one peruta; in a case where he gave her one peruta she cannot deduct at all. If he paid one peruta for her, the option of redemption does not apply.” (Sefaria.org translation) (This explanation is rejected by the Gemara)

Explanation #4 (really on daf TB Kiddushin 12a) “Rava said a different explanation: This is the reasoning of Beit Shammai, who hold that a woman can be betrothed only with a minimum of one dinar: The daughters of Israel should not be treated like ownerless property. Allowing women to be betrothed with such a small amount as one peruta is disrespectful to them.” (Sefaria.org translation)