Rights Of Eating

Rashi 22:12 explains that the possuk קנין כספו tells us that the wife of a kohan eats teruma.  Rashi also brings in Bamidbar 18:11 the Sifri has a derash that we learn out from כל טהור בביתך יאכל אתו that the wife of a kohan eats teruma.  Why do we need two sources?  The Gur Aryeh explains that קנין כספו teaches us even if just אירוסין  was done she can eat teruma.  The second possuk, כל טהור בביתך יאכל אתו teaches us even if he didn’t make her קנין כספו, it is his יבמה, she still eats teruma. 

Rav Shmuel Rozovski (Kiddushin 10a) suggests that the two derashot are distinct.  If we just have the derasha from קנין כספו then she eats teruma like a slave, she eats because of the husband.  However, the derasha of כל טהור tells us she has her own rights to eat teruma.  It is because of this second derasha that one can fulfill their obligation of giving teruma by giving it to her. 

The Gemorah in Yevamot (66a) says slaves of a kohan that buy slaves may feed them teruma.  The Chinuch (280) limits that to the second slave.  If it’s a slave that buys a slave that buys a slave, the third level slave may not eat teruma.  Rebbe Akiva Eger points out that the Rambam in Terumot 7:18 seems to disagree for he says if the slaves of the wife of a kohan purchase slaves then they can eat teruma even though its three times removed from the kohan.  However, based upon the derasha that a woman is considered to be eating in her own right, we don’t have to say there is a disagreement.