017 - הִלְכוֹת אִישׁוּת פֵּרֶק יז

Laws of Marriage, Chapter 17

1. If a man was married to several women and died, whichever woman was married to him first takes precedence in collecting her kesubah. None of them may collect except by taking an oath. The last one receives only what remains after those before her have collected, and she too must take an oath and then collects the remainder. The same applies if there was a promissory note against him: if the debt preceded, the creditor collects first; but if the kesubah preceded, the woman collects first, and the remainder goes to the creditor.

2. In what case does this apply? When the property from which they seek to collect was owned by him at the time of the marriage and at the time of the loan. In such a case, the law is that whoever's document is earlier has precedence. But if he married women one after another, and borrowed either before or after the marriages, and after marrying and borrowing he acquired property, then all share equally, for the lien of all of them comes at the same time, since at the time he acquired the property he was already obligated to all of them, and there is no law of precedence here.

3. Similarly, if the dates of all the kesubos and promissory notes are the same day, or the same hour in a place where hours are written, they all share equally, for there is no precedence. And whenever someone has already taken possession of movable property for the amount of his debt or kesubah, it is not taken from him, for there is no law of precedence regarding movables.

4. If a man divorced his wife and had a promissory note against him, and both the creditor and the woman come to collect, and he has both money and land sufficient for the debt and the kesubah, the creditor takes the money and the woman collects her kesubah from the land. If he has only land, and it is not enough for both, and there is no law of precedence, the land is given to the creditor; and if anything remains for the woman, she takes it, and if not, she is pushed aside in favor of the creditor. For the creditor has lost and spent his money, while the woman has lost nothing—for more than a man desires to marry, a woman desires to be married.

5. Similarly, if a man died and left a wife and a creditor, and land for which there is no law of precedence, the woman is pushed aside in favor of the creditor, and he collects his entire debt first.

6. Since the Geonim instituted that a woman and a creditor may collect from movables, and it is known that there is no law of precedence regarding movables, if there are not enough movables to give both, the creditor is given his entire debt first; and if anything remains for the woman to take for her kesubah, she takes it—or she is pushed aside.

7. If it was written in her kesubah that she brought in iron sheep property (nichsei tzon barzel), and she claims that it was lost or that the husband took it, then regarding her nichsei tzon barzel she is like other creditors. She must swear that she did not take them, nor give them away, nor forgive them, and she shares with the other creditors.

8. If a man dies or divorces, and he has many wives, and there is no law of precedence among them, and he does not have enough to pay all the kesubos—how do they divide it? We consider: if, when the estate is divided by the number of wives, the least among them would receive the amount of her kesubah or less, they all divide equally. But if the estate is greater than this, they divide from it so that the least among them receives the amount of her kesubah, and then the remainder is divided among those who are left, in the same manner as before. How is this? If a man was married to four women: the first’s kesubah is four hundred, the second’s is three hundred, the third’s is two hundred, and the fourth’s is one hundred, totaling one thousand. If he divorced them all, or died, and left four hundred or less, they all divide equally, and each one takes one hundred or less. If he left eight hundred—if you divide it equally among all, the fourth would receive two hundred, but her kesubah is only one hundred. So what is done? Take four hundred and divide it equally among them, one hundred each; thus, the fourth receives her full kesubah and leaves. There remain four hundred and three women, each with one hundred. If you divide the four hundred equally among the three, the third would receive two hundred and thirty-three and a third, but her kesubah is only two hundred. Therefore, take three hundred from the four hundred and divide it equally among the three; thus, the third receives her two hundred and leaves. There remains one hundred and two women. Divide the one hundred equally between the first and second; thus, the first has two hundred and fifty, and likewise the second. So, the third has two hundred, and the fourth has one hundred. In this manner, they always divide, even if there are a hundred wives.

9. A guarantor for a woman’s kesubah—even if a formal act of acquisition was made from him—is not obligated to pay, for he performed a mitzvah, and he has not lost anything. But if the guarantor is for his son’s kesubah, and a formal act of acquisition was made from him, he is obligated to pay, for a father, on account of his son, obligates himself fully and transfers ownership. A kablan for a kesubah is obligated to pay, even if no formal act of acquisition was made. Who is a kablan? One who says to the woman, “Marry this man, and I will give this kesubah.” But if he said to her, “I am a guarantor for this kesubah, I will pay this kesubah,” or similar, he is exempt, unless it is his father. One who divorces his wife must prohibit her from benefiting from him, and only afterwards may she collect her kesubah from the kablan or from his father if he was the guarantor, lest he take her back and they make a scheme regarding his property.

10. Similarly, one who consecrates his property and divorces his wife must prohibit her from benefiting from him, and only afterwards may she collect from the one who redeemed the property from hekdesh, lest they make a scheme regarding hekdesh. But one who divorces his wife, and she comes to collect from purchasers, is not required to prohibit her from benefiting; rather, she takes an oath and collects. If she wishes, she may return to her husband, for the purchasers already knew that he had a wife’s kesubah obligation, and they brought the loss upon themselves by buying property that was under her lien.

11. If a husband sold his property, and afterwards his wife wrote to the buyer, "I have no claim or dispute with you," and agreed to his actions—even if a formal acquisition was made from her—she may still seize the property, because she only wrote this so that there would not be strife between her and her husband, and she can say, "I did this to please my husband." However, if the acquisition was made from the wife first, when she had no lien on this property, and afterwards the husband sold it—she cannot seize it from the buyer. Similarly, if the husband sold the property and told his wife to write to the buyer, "I have no claim or dispute with you," and she did not write or agree to his actions, and the sale was thereby invalidated, and then the husband sold it to another person—whether it was the same field or a different field—and after the sale the wife agreed to his actions, and a formal acquisition was made from her that she has no lien on this field—she cannot seize it, because she cannot say, "I did this to please my husband," since at first, when she did not want to, she did not act according to her husband's wishes.

12. If a man had two wives and sold his field, and an acquisition was made from the first wife that she has no lien on this field, she cannot seize it from the buyer, and this acquisition is effective so that she cannot claim, "I did this to please my husband." Afterwards, if the husband died or divorced both wives, the second wife may take the field from the buyer, since no acquisition was made from her to the buyer; and the first wife may take it from the second wife, because she preceded her and only removed her lien from the buyer. When the field returns to the first wife, the buyer may then take it from her, since an acquisition was made from her for him. This process can repeat indefinitely, until they reach a compromise between them.

13. A widow, whether from marriage or from betrothal, may swear and sell her husband's land and collect her kesubah, whether in a Beis Din of experts or not of experts; provided that the three men are trustworthy and knowledgeable in appraising land. The responsibility for the sale rests on the orphans' property. However, a divorced woman may only sell in a Beis Din of experts. Any woman selling in Beis Din may only sell after public announcement; and in the laws of loans, the procedure for a Beis Din sale will be explained. But a woman who sells not in Beis Din does not require public announcement, even if the three are trustworthy and knowledgeable in appraisal.

14. If a widow sold land for her kesubah privately, if she sold it for its fair value, her sale stands; and she swears the widow's oath after the sale. This is only if she sold it to someone else; but if she appraised it for herself, her action is void, even if she made a public announcement.

15. If her kesubah was two hundred, and she sold property worth one hundred for two hundred, or property worth two hundred for one hundred, she has received her kesubah and has no further claim, provided she swears the widow's oath. If her kesubah was one hundred, and she sold property worth one hundred and a dinar for one hundred, her sale is void; even if she says, "I will return the dinar to the heirs," her sale is void.

16. If her kesubah was four hundred zuz, and she sold to one person for a maneh, and to another for a maneh, and to another for a maneh, all at fair value, and to the last one property worth one hundred and a dinar for one hundred—the last sale is void, but all the others stand.

17. A woman may sell her kesubah or give it as a gift. If the husband died or divorced her, the recipient may collect it; but if she died during her husband's lifetime, or before she swore, he has no claim.

18. If she sold part of her kesubah, or mortgaged part of it, or gave part of it to another, she may sell her husband's land and collect the remainder, whether in a Beis Din of experts or with three trustworthy men. She may sell for her kesubah even many times, whether in Beis Din or with three trustworthy and knowledgeable appraisers.

19. A woman who sells her kesubah, whether to others or to her husband, does not forfeit the other conditions of her kesubah. And if she has a male child, he inherits, corresponding to this kesubah that was sold, from his father's property more than his share, according to the law of this condition. But a woman who waives her kesubah to her husband forfeits all the conditions of her kesubah; even sustenance, she does not have from him. And one who waives her kesubah does not require a formal act of acquisition or witnesses—like other cases of waiving, which do not require witnesses or an act of acquisition, but only words alone. However, this is provided that the words are such that the mind relies upon them, and they are not words of jest or mockery or words of wonder, but with clear intent.