Arutz 7 The Jerusalem District Rabbinical Court issued a new ruling this morning (Monday) that limits the compensation that a husband owes his wife in the event of divorce, Channel 10 reported.
In Jewish wedding ceremonies performed according to traditional Jewish law, the groom signs a marriage contract (called a "Ketuba") in which he stipulates a certain amount that he owes to his wife in the event they divorce. If the husband had written a very large amount on the contract and he finds himself in a divorce, then, he can be in serious financial hot water.
The new law apparently comes as the result of a case that came to the Rabbinical Court, in which a woman demanded the exorbitant sum of 555,555 shekels as divorce compensation, since this is the number the husband had written on the marriage contract.
According to Channel 10, the husband in this case had demanded a divorce from his wife after she developed a sickness. The wife then countered that she had fallen sick due to her husband's infidelity, and would only agree to a divorce if the amount in the marriage contract was paid in full. The husband wouldn't agree to the full amount, claiming that he had written such a large amount initially for the sake of "honor and to ward off the evil eye." (the number '5' is indicative of the Hamsa, a Middle Eastern cultural symbol that is said to ward off the evil eye.)
In the end, although one judge on the Rabbinical Court actually ruled that the husband ought to pay the full amount in the contract, the other two established the majority (binding) ruling, ordering the man to pay 120,000 shekels.
On the assumption that this is a regular case where the husband doesn't have a right to just dump his wife, I can't understand this ruling. If he signed that he will give her a half a million Shekalim, then that is what he owes her. How do they get around this? Can't any man try to refuse paying his kesuba with this claim? The purpose of the kesuba is to make divorce difficult for him. If that means that getting divorced isn't worth all this money, then he gets to keep his marital commitment that he made to his wife. Oh, and his money too!
ReplyDelete1. one thing american might not understand: in america, RMF standardized the ketubah to 200 zuz, whatever that is. he supposedly wanted it to be meaningless. since then, all askhkenazi ketubot in america are only 200 zuz.
ReplyDelete2. 25 years ago, a friend of mine got married in Tel aviv, to a girl from gush dan (they live there now, making aliyah from nyc). i was asked to be an "eid" witness (recognizing that i came from america to be at my friend's wedding.)
the mesader kiddushin, one of the MAJOR rabbonim in israel (her father is well connected) asked my friend how much he wants the ketubah to be? he said "one nillion shekel tzamud." the rav said, you cant do that, its making fun of the ketubah.
(I later found out they are both very comfortable with a million shekel, then or now. never knew this friend had several properties of brooklyn real estate.)
"The husband in this case had demanded a divorce from his wife after she
ReplyDeletedeveloped a sickness."
The question is whether or not this "sickness" inhibits her from fulfilling her marital duties. If yes, then this should be grounds for her divorce, with no "ketuba". Too bad for her, but נסתפחה שדיה.
The problem is that she countered that she had fallen sick
due to her husband's infidelity. What does this mean? This could mean that she's depressed due to the discovery to her husband's infidelity. What is she supposed to do? Just keep moving on in life, and forgetting his "indiscretions"?
In the Hebrew version, it reads: האישה טענה כי המחלה פרצה בגלל בעלה.
This sounds like to me that she caught an STD from him, which he picked up due to his infidelity, and then passed on to her. So why wouldn't she be entitled to full Ketuba?
The answer is that the judge felt that this was a case of אסמכתא, where everyone, including the bride, knows that there isn't any intent to pay that sum.
לכן סבור הדיין, כי "חתן המתחייב בכתובה בסכום מופרז הוא בגדר 'אסמכתא'
[-התחייבות שאין כוונה לקיימה בלשון ההלכתית] ואינו חייב במלוא הסכום הרשום
בכתובה".
555,555 is a very odd and remarkable number and supports his claim that he had written such a large amount initially for the sake of "honor and to ward off the evil eye," Had he written 550,000, they probably would have made him pay it.
ReplyDeleteIf a guy gives someone as a wedding gift a check for 555,555 shekalim in order to honor the couple, as well as to ward off jealousy and negative judgement, can he back out of the gift later? Will he be an Indian giver or will he have a legitimate claim?
ReplyDeleteHow did they come up with 120,000 - did that include the medical bills?Also, was this Kesubah even valid? Were they even allowed to love with each other in a case where the husband doesn't have a real Kesubah obligation?
ReplyDeleteThis beit din would probably absolve him from honoring the check.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is:
ReplyDelete200 zuz = amount needed for a person to live for a year.
120,000 = 10,000 NIS per month (reasonable estimate) x 12 months
Medical bills are covered by Kupat Cholim
They couple is allowed to cohabit, because there is still a valid Ketuba, it's just that the exact amount is disputable.
200 zuz is not meaningless. When I got married in the USA, it was explained that this is the value of 1,000 ounces of silver.
ReplyDeleteROY is supposed to have said its about $87, the value of a certain amount of ounces of "unalloyed" silver. Any more is "hamitzie(motziah) mechavero/ah alav / aleha haRa'ayah"
ReplyDeleteWhere did he write this. ROY was a prolific writer. There are also plenty of videos available. For this to be reliable, it would have to be in writing or on a clear video, in proper context.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine that their ruling is undisputed.
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