In the previous mishnah we dealt with the subject of the dowry, and our mishnah continues with that same topic, entering into the details of how the dowry's value is assessed and the extent of the responsibility the groom takes upon himself.
How the dowry is received:
The father would give his daughter cash or items to bring with her into the marriage. The husband records in the kesubah the value of the cash or the items and accepts responsibility for them, and in this way they become his; if he dies or divorces her, he will have to pay her the sum written in the kesubah in place of those items. The question of the mishnah is how the value of these items is calculated.
Bringing in cash - "Pasekah lehachnis lo elef dinar":
The mishnah rules that if she agreed to bring him a thousand dinar, he writes against them fifteen maneh, which are one thousand five hundred dinar. That is an addition of five hundred dinar, fifty percent above the principal, or a third of the total sum, and this is the amount recorded in the kesubah as his debt.
The reason for this: since she is bringing in cash, the husband will be able to profit with it, and the earning potential of cash has a value built into it in its own right. The Sages therefore ruled that he add a larger sum corresponding to the benefit he is expected to gain from the cash. It emerges that the obligation is not for the cash alone, but also for the added value expected to come through it.
Bringing in appraised items - "poseik pachos chomesh":
When she brings in items - furniture and the like - their value must be assessed, and the husband records the appraised sum in the kesubah. Here the mishnah adds a qualification: "Keneged hashum hu poseik pachos chomesh" - the husband deducts a fifth from the assessed value.
And why does he deduct a fifth? Because in those days the practice was to appraise the items above their worth in the "beis hechasan", the house in which the appraisal was conducted as part of the wedding preparations, so that the bride would appear attractive in people's eyes. Everyone knew that the appraisal was not accurate, and nevertheless that was the practice. For this reason the husband does not bear responsibility for this exaggeration, and the true value is set at a fifth less than what was appraised in the groom's house.
"Shum b'maneh v'shaveh maneh":
The mishnah continues and discusses a case in which there was no over-appraisal at all: "Shum b'maneh v'shaveh maneh - ein lo ela maneh" - the appraisal was set at a maneh, which is one hundred dinar, and that is indeed the true value of the items. In this case the husband writes only a maneh and may not deduct a fifth, and correspondingly he also cannot demand that she bring a fifth more, since the agreement here is that everything is set according to the true value.
How much she must bring against the recorded sum:
"Shum b'maneh" - if she wants him to record a maneh in the kesubah, and the appraisal is done with an inflated valuation, she must give items worth "sheloshim v'achas sela v'dinar". A sela is four dinar, and thirty-one sela are one hundred twenty-four dinar, and with the additional dinar - one hundred twenty-five dinar, which is a fifth more than a maneh.
"Uv'arba me'os" - if she wants him to record four hundred in the kesubah, she must give items appraised at five hundred dinar, which is likewise an addition of a fifth.
And this is the rule the mishnah states: "Mah shechasan poseik - hu poseik pachos chomesh" - the sum the groom records in the kesubah is a fifth less than the sum appraised under ordinary circumstances.
In summary: In this mishnah we learned the ways in which the dowry is assessed. One who brings in cash - the husband records against it an addition of a third (fifteen maneh against a thousand dinar), because the earning potential of cash is a value in its own right. One who brings in items that are appraised - the husband deducts a fifth from the assessment, because the practice was to appraise above value in the groom's house, and he does not bear responsibility for this exaggeration. And when the appraisal matches the true value - there is no deduction and no addition. Finally we examined the reverse calculation: how much she must bring against the sum to be recorded in the kesubah - a maneh against thirty-one sela and a dinar, and four hundred against five hundred.