About this episode
If a husband and wife die at around the same time and it is unclear who died first, there is a question regarding various types of property. The wife's heirs claim the husband died first and therefore they should collect her ketuba money, her tzon barzel property, and usufruct ( melog ) property. In contrast, the husband's heirs do not want to pay the ketuba money and they want to keep her possessions. The husband's heirs claim the wife died first, meaning there is no obligation to pay the ketuba money and all her possessions were inherited by the husband upon her death. Beit Shamai rules that they split the money in half, which Beit Hillel differentiates between the three issues -the ketuba , tzon barzel , and usufruct property. The ruling of Beit Hillel regarding the tzon barzel property is unclear and the amoraim offer different opinions about what he meant. If a mother and only son die at around the same time and it is unclear who died first, there is a question about who died first and who inherits the mother's property - his heirs or hers. In this case, Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel agree that they split it equally. However, Rabbi Akiva rules that the money remains where it is. Ben Azai is bothered by the fact that Rabbi Akiva created a debate in the case where both Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel agreed.