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Dedicated to a Refuah Shelemah for Rafael Aryeh ben Batsheva.
Perek 12 contains only 4 Mishnayot…Here is a quick breakdown:
1. The first Mishnah teaches that an additional commitment a husband accepts upon himself for his wife’s benefit (e.g., to provide food for a set period of time for her daughter from a previous marriage) is binding. In fact, even if she divorces him and marries another who makes the very same commitment, each of the men’s commitment remain binding and neither of their obligations are extinguished or reduced. (Beyond the context of marital agreements and true of many of the concepts in Ketubot, this underscores the sanctity and importance of staying true to one’s word.)
2. The second Mishnah continues the above discussion…even if the stepdaughter herself marries and is now entitled to support from her husband, her new husband’s AND her stepfathers’ support obligations remain intact (although the stepfathers instead provide the cash equivalent of the value of the food they otherwise committed to provide).
The Mishnah further extends the protection afforded to the stepdaughter in our case.
By way of quick background, when one borrows money or otherwise assumes a debt and the debt is recorded in a document, a lien is attached to the borrower’s land. Thus, if the borrower thereafter sells the land, the lender can seize the land to satisfy the debt. One exception to this rule is that a daughter may NOT seize land sold by her father to satisfy her father’s obligation to support her after his death (i.e., she can only collect support from property her father still owned at the time of his death). However, the stepdaughter may seize land sold by her stepfather prior to his death (i.e., she has greater rights than his biological daughters have). [The Mishnah does, however, end with the proviso that a husband (a “clever one” in the words of the Mishnah) can stipulate that his support of his stepdaughter ends upon their divorce of his death.]
3. We now turn to the support of a widow. The standard Ketubah text provides that “[After I die] you [my wife] shall live in my house and be supported from my property.” Upon his death, this obligation is binding on his heirs, who must afford the widow the right to stay in her marital home, even providing her a place to live therein that “befits her dignity” (i.e., at least as nice as those to which she was used when her husband was alive). If, on the other hand (and with one specific exception discussed by the Mishnah), she insists on living in her parents’ home, the heirs’ obligation to support her is capped at the amount they would have paid to support her had she stayed in her marital home (i.e., they aren’t obligated to pay the additional cost of her living elsewhere).
4. Finally, the Mishnah records a dispute as to how long a widow has after her husband’s death to claim her ketubah. R’ Meir holds that when the widow is living in her parent’s home, she can collect the ketubah whenever she wants; if she remains living in her marital home, she can only collect it up for up to 25 years after her husband’s death. The Sages, on the other hand, argue for the opposite formulation.
One Perek to go and we will finish Ketubot…Yasher Koach to everyone for your continued commitment!!
As a reminder, please save the date for our next Zoom shiur, with Rabbi Shlomo Weissman the administrator of the Beth Din of America, on March 17th. Save the date!
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