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Nov 4, 2018
Interesting Psak: missing words from kesuba
Rav Baruch Dov Povarski, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezshe, sent a young avreich to Rav Shmuel Eliezer Stern to determine if his kesuba was kosher. He discovered a problem in his kesuba - two words were missing. Specifically, the words "va'ezon v'afarnes" - "I will feed and support" - אזון ואפרנס - by which the husband commits to supporting his wife. Without these words it seems the kesuba is invalid.
Rav Stern is an expert in the halachos of the kesuba, has written the book on the subject and is also the author of the text of many of the pre-printed ketubas available in the book/Judaica stores in Israel.
Rav Stern paskened that this avriech needs to write a new kesuba for his wife. But then it got worse. He realized that this would not be a lone case and looked into it, discovering that an entire recent printing of the kesubas somehow left the words out. This young couple got one of those deficient kesubas, but many other people, possibly thousands of couples, would have as well. All these couples cannot live together until this is taken care of.
Rav Stern put out a notice that anyone with a kesuba from the month of Tammuz 5778 should contact his office (at 03-616-1616).
source: Behadrei
Frightening.
Not because of this mistake, but taking into account the modern lifestyle, in which both the husband and wife often work, or in the yeshiva/kollel lifestyle in which the wife generally works and the husband does not, perhaps the text of the kesuba needs to be rewritten.
Rav Stern is an expert in the halachos of the kesuba, has written the book on the subject and is also the author of the text of many of the pre-printed ketubas available in the book/Judaica stores in Israel.
Rav Stern paskened that this avriech needs to write a new kesuba for his wife. But then it got worse. He realized that this would not be a lone case and looked into it, discovering that an entire recent printing of the kesubas somehow left the words out. This young couple got one of those deficient kesubas, but many other people, possibly thousands of couples, would have as well. All these couples cannot live together until this is taken care of.
Rav Stern put out a notice that anyone with a kesuba from the month of Tammuz 5778 should contact his office (at 03-616-1616).
source: Behadrei
Frightening.
Not because of this mistake, but taking into account the modern lifestyle, in which both the husband and wife often work, or in the yeshiva/kollel lifestyle in which the wife generally works and the husband does not, perhaps the text of the kesuba needs to be rewritten.
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I hope that your last paragraph was written tongue in cheek. The language of the kesuva does not need any modification, despite the fact that many, if not most, wives work.
ReplyDeleteThe husband's promise to feed and support should be understood as declaring that the responsibility to make sure there is enough money to cover necessities rests solely with the husband and the wife (ideally) can sleep easy knowing that her husband has fully assumed that responsibility. Nowhere does it imply he will be earning the money himself. The kesuva never said that. If the husband can make sure the household is financially stable through his ample savings, or he has arranged an agreement with someone to give him money on a regular basis, then he's certainly fulfilled his obligation both in deed and spirit. And if the person who has agreed to provide money is own wife, that changes nothing. As long as the wife is content to work and is not being forced to, which I think is the usual case with idealistic kollel wives who have decided that allowing their husband to learn full time is what the wife desires, then the husband keeps what he promised when signing the kesuva.
Of course, if the wife decides not to work, or if the source of money the husband relied upon stops, it is his, and only his responsibility to find a new income source, whether it be a job or whatever.
You just made that up, didn't you.
DeleteIt's amazing how Judaism can be twisted to fit this brand-new religion called "charedism."
No, I read the kesuva and thought about what it says, not what you would like it to say.
DeleteI like the idea that the words were dropped because min hashamayim it was decided that since many bnei Torah absolutely intend to NOT work or provide, and rely forever on their wives, it's a sheker. It's not good to start off on sheker. So the Beis Din shel Maalah arranged that the words should be accidentally deleted.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was accidentally deleted.
DeleteThe rabbonim involved should be looking into this.
That includes those rabbonim who don't permit their takmidim to work.
i would go further and change the text from i will provide food and parnasa to YOU will provide food and parnasa....
ReplyDeleteI find it incredible that many rabbonim used the kesubah without reading it
ReplyDelete