About this episode
A woman and a man can each be present to effect the betrothal or they can each send messengers to effect the betrothal on their behalf. A father can betroth his daughter when she is a naara , even via a messenger. Why does the Mishna need to mention that the husband can do the betrothal himself? It is to teach that it is better for one to perform the mitzva themselves than to have someone do it on their behalf. Some people think it is forbidden to send a messenger as perhaps when he sees his wife after the betrothal, she will not find favor in his eyes and he will not want to marry her. This is not a concern for the woman as Reish Lakish understood that women would prefer always to be married than not married. The Mishna states that the father betroths the daughter when she is a naara, but not when she is a minor, even though he can also do it when she is a minor. They derive from here that a father should not betroth a woman so young as she should be at the age where she consents to the marriage. Can a messenger appoint another messenger? From where do we derive the concept of shlichut and that a messenger can 'fill the shoes' of the one who sent him/her and is considered as if the action was performed by the one who sent the messenger?