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Week 62 - Tuesday - 30 January 2001

KETUBOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 8

If he did not write for her, "If you be taken captive, I will ransom you, and I will take you back to me for my wife"; and for a kohen's wife, "I will return you to your town" - he is liable, because this is a condition of the Court.

Kehati

Our mishnah deals with the husband's obligation to ransom his wife, if she is taken captive by non-Jews, which is one of the "conditions of the ketubah." If the husband is an Israelite, he takes her back to his home as his wife, but if he is a kohen, he must return her to her father's home, for she is forbidden to him as from the time that she is taken captive (as taught above, 2:9). Our mishnah teaches that the husband's obligation to ransom his wife is a condition of the Court, and even if he did not write this condition in the ketubah, he is bound to fulfill it.

If he - the husband, did not write for her - his wife, in the ketubah, "If you be taken captive, I will ransom you, and I will take you back to me for my wife"; and for a kohen's wife - who is forbidden to him as from the time that she is taken captive, "If you will be taken captive, I will ransom you and I will return you to your town" - to your father's home, he - the husband, is liable - to fulfill this obligation, because this is a condition of the Court - which binds the husband, even if it is not explicitly written in the ketubah.

KETUBOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 9

If she was taken captive, he is obligated to ransom her. And if he said, "Here is her get and her ketubah, let her ransom herself" - he is not allowed. If she fell ill, he is responsible for her healing. If he said, "Here is her get and her ketubah, let her heal herself" - he is allowed.

Kehati

Our mishnah teaches that there is a difference between the husband's obligation to ransom his wife (discussed in the previous mishnah) and his obligation to pay for curing her if she became ill. If she - the wife, was taken captive, he - the husband, is obligated to ransom her - as was taught in the preceding mishnah. And if he - the husband, said, "Here is her get and her ketubah - Behold, I wish to divorce my wife who is a captive and pay her her ketubah, let her ransom herself" - with the money of the ketubah which she receives, he is not allowed - to exempt himself from ransoming her, since he became obligated to ransom her from the time that she was taken captive. If she - the wife, fell ill, he - her husband, is responsible for her healing - since healing is included in the obligation of maintenance. If he - the husband, said, "Here is her get and her ketubah - indeed, I wish to divorce her and settle her ketubah, let her heal herself" - with the money of the ketubah which she receives, he is allowed - since healing is part of his obligation to provide her with maintenance; but after her divorce he is exempt from this, because one is not obligated to provide for his divorced wife.

Tosafot (Ket. 52b, s.v. amar) explains the mishnah's reasoning as follows: Healing is part of maintenance, provided in exchange for her handiwork, and she has already received maintenance for her handiwork. But he is not allowed to say "Let her ransom herself" since her ransom is in exchange for her usufruct, and she has not yet received payment for the usufruct that he enjoyed until now. Rambam writes: he is obligated to heal his wife who falls ill until she recovers. If he sees that she will be ill for a long time, and it will be very costly to heal her, and he says to her, "Here is your ketubah, either heal yourself from your ketubah, or I will divorce you, and give you the ketubah and leave" - they listen to him. However, this is unfitting and improper behavior (Hil. Ishut 14:17). According to Ravad our mishnah refers to a wife who is not bedridden. However, if she is bedridden, the husband may not say, "Here is her get and her ketubah, let her heal herself." He cites as proof Sifrei's comment on the verse, "then you shall let her go whither she will" (Deut. 21:14, referring to a gentile prisoner of war): "This teaches that if she was ill, he waits until she recovers, which constitutes a kal va-homer regarding a Jewish woman, "that if the wife is bedridden he may not divorce her;" evidently, our mishnah refers to a woman who is not bedridden (see Maggid Mishneh and Kesef Mishneh on Rambam, loc. cit.).

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