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Much of the first two dapim of the Gemara in Massekhet Kiddushin deal with technical questions of language that are not the usual topics of discussion in the Gemara. In explanation of this odd dialogue, Rav Sherira Ga’on, as well as many of the rishonim explain that these pages are not part of the original Gemara , rather they are a later addition from the time of the savora’im – the sages who followed the amora’im of the Gemara – or, perhaps the early ge’onim.
The Gemara explains that according to Rav Huna, who maintains that Chupah is a valid form of Kidushin, the reason why the Mishnah mentions the number "three" when it lists the ways in which a woman becomes betrothed is that it seeks to exclude a fourth possible form of Kidushin, that of Chalifin. Chalifin may not be used for Kidushin because a Kinyan Chalifin may be performed with an object worth less than a Perutah, and a woman does not consent to become betrothed if she receives an object worth less than a Perutah.
We explore the Halacha of Kimyan through chalifin.