A woman might want to sell her divorce certificate for money. The get is the marriage contract that promises a woman that her husband will pay her a certain amount of money in the case of their divorce. In order to remarry, a witnessed get must be in the wife's possession. Damages are paid to a woman if conspiring witnesses testify against her marriage status.
Today's daf focuses on the intricacies of money paid through a woman's get. Usufruct money is that which a woman brings into the marriage that will become her husband's property. Land, for example, will benefit the husband who can sell the produce grown on his wife's land. Regardless of whether the value of the land increases or decreases of their time as a married couple, she will inherit and will pass down that property to her children.
Another form of ownership is tzon barzel, an iron sheep. This property will not lose value over the course of the marriage and will always be in a woman's possession. The Gemara teaches that a woman can sell her property but only within the confines of these rules regarding her possession.
It is fascinating to watch the rabbis work hard to protect the women in their community while they simultaneously exclude and dehumanize women in other ways.
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