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Kesuvos Chapter 7, Mishnah 6: Women Who Are Divorced Without Their Ketubah

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The Mishnah lists the women who leave their husband's home without collecting their kesubah, because of the transgressions they committed. There are two categories here: "overes al das Moshe" - something that comes from the Torah itself; "v'das Yehudis" - a practice that was accepted as the custom of Jewish women, particularly in matters of modesty. A woman who violates either of these leaves without a kesubah.

Examples of a woman who violates das Moshe:

  • She feeds him food from which Terumah and ma'aser were never separated - How would he ever find out? If she told him beforehand, he would not have eaten it; and if she told him after the fact, he is not necessarily obligated to believe her, since perhaps she is only looking to make life difficult for him. The Gemara explains that the case is one where she said that a certain person had separated Terumah and ma'aser on her behalf, and when the husband asked that person, he answered that he had never done so - and by then the husband had already eaten, so it turns out that she caused him to sin.

  • She was intimate with him while she was a niddah - The case is one where she claimed that she was not a niddah and he was intimate with her, and afterward he heard from her neighbors that she had in fact been a niddah.

  • He ate from bread she baked without separating challah from it - And how did he find out? She said that a certain person had separated challah from this dough for her, and that person later denied it.

  • She makes vows and does not fulfill them - And why does this concern the husband? Because the Gemara says that the sin of not fulfilling vows can cause, Heaven forbid, the death of a person's children, and that is certainly a matter that concerns him a great deal.

Each one of these reasons is grounds for divorcing her without a kesubah.

And who is a woman who violates das Yehudis?

  • She goes out into the public domain with her hair uncovered - The Gemara asks: covering the hair is a Torah obligation, since from the passage of the sotah, where her hair is uncovered, we learn that a married woman keeps her head covered at all times. The Gemara explains that here we are dealing with a woman who wears a minimal covering, but not in the manner that is accepted as the custom of Jewish women.

  • "v'tovah bashuk" - She spins her wool in the marketplace in a way that is not modest, exposing too much of her body.

  • "v'doveres im kol adam" - The Gemara explains that this refers to a woman who converses frivolously and flirts with unmarried young men.

The additions of Abba Shaul and Rabbi Tarfon:

  • "af hamekaleles yoladav b'fanav" - Abba Shaul adds the woman who curses his "yoladav," meaning his parents, in his presence.

  • "af kolanis" - Rabbi Tarfon adds the loud woman, and this too falls under das Yehudis.

The Mishnah asks: "v'eizohi kolanis? K'shehi medaberes b'soch beisah u'shecheneha shom'in kolah" - And who is a kolanis? One who speaks inside her house and her neighbors can hear her voice. The Gemara explains that this refers to a woman who argues and quarrels with her husband about matters of intimacy, and when she does so in a voice that the neighbors can hear, that is legitimate grounds for divorcing her without a kesubah.