Wife's Forfeiture of Kesubah Due to Unfulfilled Oaths

Date: 9 Elul 5581

From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer

To: Rabbi Pinchas Leib Munk

Description

A husband sought to divorce his wife without paying her kesubah, claiming she habitually swore and violated her oaths, but the wife countered that the husband himself violated vows. The Chasam Sofer rules that the husband's claim fails on multiple grounds: the distinction between oaths and vows does not render the wife's guilt greater in a legally actionable sense, and since divine punishment for sin is not guaranteed to materialize, both parties' risks are equally doubtful. The wife therefore does not forfeit her kesubah.

Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer EH II §171

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