Siman 55

An arusah is a complete married woman, and one who has relations with her intentionally is liable for the death penalty; and her death penalty is more severe than that of a nesuah, for a nesuah is executed by strangulation and an arusah by stoning. The arus cannot be released from her except with a get. Nevertheless, it is forbidden for the arus to have relations with his arusah prior to the huppah. This is what the Men of the Great Assembly established in the blessings: "and has forbidden to us the arusot"—that the arus should not have relations with his arusah prior to the huppah and the blessings. This prohibition is of rabbinic origin, just as they decreed regarding an unmarried woman. One who has relations with his arusah in the house of his father-in-law is lashed with makkot mardut. Thus the sages, of blessed memory, said: A kallah without a blessing is forbidden to her husband like a niddah. The sages also forbade being in seclusion with her, just as they decreed regarding the seclusion of an unmarried woman. Similarly, a woman who is engaged is forbidden from seclusion with the one to whom she is engaged, for anyone with whom relations are forbidden is forbidden in seclusion. Therefore, some say they should not dwell together so that they do not become weary of one another; even in engagement without erusin there is cause for concern. Furthermore, there is concern that they will not control their inclination and will come to commit a transgression; not only that, but they may even come to a prohibition of karet, for she is a niddah if she is an adult. Therefore, one who fears the word of Hashem should distance himself from this and the like.

Even if he betrothed her through intercourse, it is forbidden for him to have intercourse with her a second time until the time of the nishuim, for we hold that intercourse effects erusin and not nishuim, as has been written in siman 33, and the nishuim is the chuppah. However, as for what the chuppah is, the poskim disagree on this, as will be explained with the help of Heaven.

The Rambam, of blessed memory, in chapter 10 wrote that a betrothed woman is forbidden until he brings her into his house and unites with her and sets her apart for himself, and this seclusion is what is called "entry into the chuppah" and it is what is called nissuin everywhere, and one who cohabits with his betrothed for the sake of nissuin after he has performed kiddushin, once he has begun the initial stage of intercourse he has acquired her and she becomes a married woman and behold she is his wife in every regard. Once the betrothed woman has entered the chuppah, behold she is permitted to be cohabited with at any time he desires and behold she is his complete wife in every regard; from the time she enters the chuppah she is called a married woman even though she has not had intercourse, provided that she is fit for intercourse, but if she was a niddah, even though she entered the chuppah and he secluded with her, the nissuin are not completed and behold she is still like a betrothed woman. Thus far his words.

From his words it is explained that the essence of the huppah is the yichud for the sake of marriage, and this yichud must be with preparation and designation to be with her as a man and his wife. Therefore, he must bring her into his house and achieve yichud with her and set her apart for himself. The bringing into his house is the preparation, and the setting apart is the designation to live with her always, and the yichud stands in place of intercourse, even though he did not have intercourse with her, provided that she is fit for intercourse as has been written. However, if the yichud is not forever, even if it were with designation and preparation—such as if he took her to his house for a few days and afterwards she would return to her father's house—even if he achieved yichud with her, it is nothing. And it is a simple matter that even if the yichud was not in his house—such as if he established a place on the road to achieve yichud with her and set her apart for himself so that he may take her from there to his house—from then on her status is as a married woman, as has been written in siman 57. And when he achieves yichud with her, he must recite birkat chatanim in the house of the marriage, which is the place they established to achieve yichud or where he took her to his house. The blessing is prior to the marriage; however, the blessings do not invalidate post facto, as has been written in siman 33. And that which we learned, "a kallah without a blessing is forbidden"—the intention is without marriage, for a typical marriage is with a blessing. Conversely, birkat chatanim alone is nothing, as the Rambam wrote there: One who betroths a woman and recited birkat chatanim but did not achieve yichud with her in his house, she is still an arusah, for birkat chatanim does not effect marriage, but rather the entry into the huppah. If he betrothed and brought her into the huppah and did not recite birkat chatanim, she is a completely married woman, and he goes back and recites the blessing even after several days. Thus far his words.

And that which he wrote, that if he had intercourse with her for the purpose of marriage she becomes a married woman, it is clear from his words that through intercourse for the purpose of marriage she becomes a married woman even though she did not set herself apart for him to take her into his house. And it is necessary to distinguish according to his words that when the Sages, of blessed memory, said one who has intercourse with his betrothed is lashed, this is when his intention was not explicitly for the purpose of marriage; but with the intention for marriage, she becomes a married woman through this intercourse. And one cannot say that his intention refers to the preparation to take her into his house, for if so, intercourse would not be necessary and a mere yichud would suffice. Rather, certainly he holds that since the Sages, of blessed memory, established that through yichud with preparation and readiness she becomes a married woman, and the yichud is only for the sake of intercourse, all the more so that through the intercourse itself no preparation or readiness is required. And it is possible that witnesses of yichud are not required for this intercourse, and it is not similar to kiddushin through intercourse which requires witnesses, for there it is the beginning of his acquisition, whereas the intercourse of marriage is similar to the intercourse of a yevamah. For even regarding the essence of the intercourse it is more lenient than the intercourse of kiddushin, for there the completion of intercourse is required according to the opinion of the Rif and the Rambam, as I wrote in siman 33, section 4, while regarding the intercourse of marriage, the Rambam wrote that initial contact suffices [and his source is from Yevamot 55b as the Rif wrote there, and see the Ran in the first chapter, beginning with the words "We learn in the Gemara, they inquired"]. And the intercourse of marriage or the chuppah, since it is revealed to all, it is as if there are witnesses, as I wrote in siman 149; and see what I wrote in siman 26, section 5.

And some say that huppah is not seclusion, but rather whenever the husband brought her from her father's house to his house for the sake of marriage, even if he did not seclude himself with her; for it is written, "And if she vowed in her husband's house" (Numbers 30:11), which implies that as long as she is in her husband's house, she is under his authority. And so the sages taught: She is always under the authority of the father until she enters the authority of the husband for marriage; it follows that the essence of marriage is the entry into the authority of the husband. And the Rambam holds that it is true that the entry into his authority effects marriage—but with seclusion, for the matter is typically such that when he brings her to his house, he secludes himself with her. However, even this opinion agrees with the Rambam that on the road, the essence is the seclusion, as is proven in siman 57, see there.

And some say that the huppah is that the father delivers her and brings her into a house in which there is a novelty that they innovated for the sake of the huppah, such as decorated sheets, and some make it from roses or from myrtles, and in it they both sequester themselves, and this is the expression "entering the huppah," for this is a specific place like a canopy where the groom and the bride sit with the groomsmen, and in the Yerushalmi at the end of Sotah it is stated: grooms' huppot are decorated sheets and golden crescents are hanging from them, behold it is explicit that there was a specific and decorated place for the huppah.

The Rosh, of blessed memory, wrote [chapter 2 of Sukkah, section 8]: It requires investigation what the huppah is. If it is the place where they recite the birkat nissuin, which is the beginning of the nissuin and for that reason they call it huppah—it is impossible to say so, for sometimes they recite it in the city street when the people are numerous. Rather, the place of the primary dwelling of the groom and the bride they call huppah, and not a place made merely for a temporary purpose, and there they recite the birkat hatanim all seven days. And they are accustomed in Ashkenaz to make a canopy and a seat for the groom and the bride, and that is called huppah. Thus far his words. And this is similar to the previous opinion, and there is support for this from the Scripture [Joel 2:16], "Let the groom go forth from his chamber, and the bride from her huppah." Behold, there is a fixed place for this time, the place called huppah, as it is written (Psalms 19:6), "And he is like a groom going forth from his huppah," meaning from the tent where the huppah is, as it is written previously, "In them He has set a tent for the sun."

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote that there are those who say that the huppah is when they spread a kerchief over their heads at the time of the blessing. Thus far his words. And they rejected this opinion, however, the intent of this opinion is similar to our custom where they set up poles with a sheet spread over them, which is called in the language of the people a "huppah," and they set it up in a specific place such as the courtyard of the synagogue or similar to this, and they bring the groom, the bride, and the attendants under it, and there they recite the blessings.

He further wrote that some say the chuppah of a virgin is from the time she goes out with a hinuma, and a widow from the time they are secluded. Thus far his words. And this is found in the Mishnah, that a virgin goes out with a hinuma and her head is uncovered, for they were accustomed to bring out the virgins from their father's house to the wedding house with her hair on her shoulders, and the hinuma is the veil upon her head draped over her eyes, and sometimes she slumbers within it because her eyes are not revealed, and therefore it is called "hinuma" after the term for slumber. And some say that the chuppah is that which they deliver her to the groom before the blessing. And the intention of these two opinions is not that immediately upon placing the hinuma on her she is considered as married, or immediately upon delivering her to the groom; rather, the intention is according to our custom, that they seat the bride and braid her hair and sing before her with musical instruments, and the groom comes and covers her face with a kerchief, and from there they go to the chuppah, for this is the hinuma and the delivery to the groom. And with us it is simple that she is not as married, for behold, he has not yet performed kiddushin with her, and there is no marriage before betrothal; rather, this is the beginning of the marriage, and they are completed after the kiddushin and the blessings. And also the intention of these opinions is only that this is the beginning and the order of the marriage.

He further wrote that the current widespread custom is to call "hupa" the place where they bring a spread cloth atop poles and bring the groom and bride under it in public, and he betroths her there, and they recite the blessings of erusin and nissuim there, and afterwards they lead them to their home and they eat together in a private place, and this is the hupa practiced now. Thus far his words. According to this, the primary completion of the hupa is that which they eat together in a private place, for this is like yihud; therefore, many should be prevented from going there [Bach], and even a single person should not enter there, for if not so, this is not a yihud fit for intercourse. Therefore, one must prevent any person from entering there so that it will be a complete yihud [Beit Shmuel, subsection 5]. Accordingly, in our times, when this custom does not exist for the groom and bride to eat in one room where no person enters—and on the contrary, all the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and wedding guests are there—if so, one must know what the hupa is now through which she becomes a nessoah.

And I found one of the Rishonim who wrote regarding this, and this is his wording: It appears to me that the matters are as follows: the father first delivers his daughter to his son-in-law to be his wife along with his group of companions, and this is what is called nissuin. And after she remained for a day or two to prepare the needs of the feast and garments, he would designate a house to rejoice there with his groomsmen and his friends and to make a feast in order to cohabit at night, and they would bring the bride in there. And that house prepared for this is what is called a chuppah, and it is what they said in the Yerushalmi, "Not only to the chuppah, but to a house where there is a chuppah," meaning that even though they have not yet seated her in the canopy, but rather in a house where there is a canopy, she immediately eats terumah. Therefore, I say that our chuppah is the bringing in of the bride that we bring into a house that has decorated sheets. And behold, from the time of nissuin, that is, from the time of the father's delivery to the husband, he inherits from her, but he does not contract tumah for her and he does not annul her vows until she enters the chuppah. And once she enters the chuppah, she is like his wife in every regard, except that it is forbidden to cohabit with her until he recites the seven blessings. And likewise, if he cohabited with her after nissuin without a chuppah, he has not acquired her for these matters, for anything that is not by way of a chuppah is considered like licentiousness, etc. Thus far his words. [Cited in Sha'ar HaMelekh in the pamphlet Chuppat Chatanim].

From these matters it is clarified that nisuin and huppah are two different things, and one may likewise be precise from the language of the Mishnah, as we learned [ibid. 48b]: She is always in the domain of the father until she enters the domain of the husband for nisuin; and we further learned [ibid. 57a]: A woman does not eat terumah until she enters the huppah. Since it changed the language, learn from this that they are two different things. However, from all the poskim we have not heard this, and in the words of the Rambam that we cited, who wrote: And this seclusion is what is called "entering the huppah," and it is what is called "nisuin" in every place; thus far his words. Behold, it is explicitly one thing. And likewise in the Mishnah of "until she enters the domain of the husband for nisuin," perforce this is huppah, for it is regarding the matter of terumah. And so Rashi explained there: That is to say, she enters the huppah for the sake of nisuin; thus far his words. And some indeed have the version there "until she enters the huppah" [Tosafot]. However, we find in the Gemara [ibid. 48b] in a Baraita that was taught: One who cohabits with a married woman, once she has entered the domain of the husband for nisuin, he is subject to strangulation; and it infers there: even though she has not yet entered the huppah, see there. Behold, they are two different things. And it must be said that the name "nisuin" is a collective term and extends from before the huppah until after the huppah; the beginning of nisuin is not yet huppah, and the end of nisuin is the huppah.

And it appears to me that all the poskim do not disagree at all, for behold, in truth chuppah is not written in the Torah, and only nisuin is written, as it is written: "And who is the man who has betrothed a woman and has not taken her" (Deuteronomy 20:7), and this is the "taking" of nisuin. According to the essential law of the Torah, when he has relations with her for the sake of nisuin so that she shall be as his complete wife, she is married, as the Rambam wrote. However, it is not the way of the Children of Israel to perform the act of relations publicly, and if he were to do so, we would require witnesses to the seclusion for the act of relations; and even if it is possible that witnesses are not required for this, as was written in section 5, nevertheless the matter would be public since they must be blessed before the nisuin and adjacent to it with the seven blessings. Therefore, our Sages of blessed memory established that the chuppah should take the place of the nisuin, and it was always so even in the time of the Prophets, as it is written: "as a bridegroom coming out of his chuppah," and it is said: "and a bride from her chuppah," and certainly Moshe our teacher led Israel in this manner.

The meaning of "chuppah" is from the expression "He hovers over him all day" (Deuteronomy 33:12), which is a term for covering and separation from others. In the Aggadah, our sages, of blessed memory, said [Bava Batra 75a] that in the future the Holy One, Blessed be He, will make seven chuppot for every righteous person; that is to say, coverings of honor to distinguish them from others, as it is written: "For over all the glory shall be a chuppah" (Isaiah 4:5). This matter was established to make a chuppah of honor and to recite the seven blessings over them, and through this she is fully married. The act of cohabitation is not a prerequisite, and everyone knows why a bride enters the chuppah, yet there is no need for witnesses of yichud or ten men for the marriage blessings and for him to immediately cohabit, for such a thing is unseemly. Any type of chuppah that it is customary to perform constitutes the kinyan of the marriage, since their intent is for marriage and they are separated from others, as they both stand in one place for the sake of marriage, such as when he brings her into his house and is secluded with her, as the Rambam wrote. It appears to me that even the intent of the Rambam is not for absolute yichud where both are alone in one room, but rather that they are secluded to be together as husband and wife, standing next to one another while the seven blessings are recited for them. Therefore, the opinion we wrote in section 6—that chuppah is not yichud but rather the bringing into his house for the sake of marriage—also essentially agrees with the Rambam. For it is obvious that even this opinion admits that if he brings her into his house and he is not with her, it is nothing; and it is obvious that he must be together with her and have the seven blessings recited for them. However, this opinion, according to what all the poskim wrote regarding the view of the Rambam—that he holds there must be absolute yichud in one room without anyone else being with them—therefore considers itself to disagree with him. But according to our words regarding the view of the Rambam, this and that are one and the same.

And so too if they established a custom of other types of chupot, such as in section 7 where they make a special and decorated place for the chatan and kallah, or as is our practice where they set up poles with a spread cloth and beneath this the shoshvinim bring the chatan and kallah, and beforehand they seat the kallah and the chatan covers her, and upon their return from the chupa they go together and sit at the table adjacent to one another and this is a sign of the nisuin and everyone knows that this is a preparation to come upon her in the way of all the earth, there is no concern regarding the fact that at this time he is unable to come upon her, for this was done intentionally so that the sensation would not be so great as has been written. And the Rosh, of blessed memory, who was concerned because the place of the chupa is a temporary place, also admits this, for they designate a place where they are together before the chupa and after the chupa; consequently, this entire matter is the chupa, and immediately upon reciting the sheva brachot for them, she is a complete nesuah. And this is what one of the Rishonim distinguished between nisuin and chupa that we wrote in section 12, his intention was also thus: that the beginning of the nisuin is the place where they sit before the chupa and there he covers her head and this is like taking her into his domain, but this is not the completion of the chupa, and it is no better than delivering her to her husband which is effective only regarding inheritance as has been written in siman 57, and the completion is under the chupa for then the nisuin are completed, and the sign for the completion of the nisuin is when they recite the brachot for them.

The general principle of the matter—from the essential law of the Torah, nisuin is intercourse for the sake of marriage or the preparation for it, and the huppah is the preparation for it. Which preparation depends on the custom, for since they call this thing huppah and recite the blessings, the nisuin are completed. The purpose of the preparations of all huppot is that from this moment forward she enters his domain and is ready to be with him as a man and his wife. Therefore, the Rambam required that she be pure, for since the essence of the huppah is for the sake of intercourse, we require that she be fit for intercourse. Most of the poskim disagree with him, and they hold that just as we are not concerned that she be fit for intercourse at the very moment of the huppah, for ten men will certainly be found there for the sake of the blessings and it is impossible for him to cohabit then, but rather we say that she must be fit for intercourse after some time, if so, what difference does it make to me if it is after an hour or after a day or two days.

And this practice of ours to set the chuppah in the courtyard of the beit knesset has a great reason for it, because the essence of the chuppah is the departure from the authority of the father to the authority of the husband, and this occurs if the husband takes her to his house. However, our custom in many instances is that they do everything in the house of the bride's father, and sometimes the bride's father even takes him into his house for a period of time; if so, through what is it recognized that she has departed from the authority of the father to the authority of the husband? Therefore, they erect the chuppah in the courtyard of the beit knesset, which is a place belonging to the community, and at the time of the chuppah the intention of the community is to transfer ownership of this ground to this groom, like the etrog of the community which at the time of the blessing on the first day of the festival is considered for each person as his own; and since this ground is now his, it is considered as bringing her into his domain [the Gra]. And the poles and the spread cloth that we call the chuppah are truly so, for it hovers over the groom and the bride and separates them from the rest of the people to indicate their attachment to one another. And as for the fact that the shoshvinin also stand under the chuppah, it is all for the sake of the joining of the groom and the bride, and therefore they stand close to one another [it appears to me].

Furthermore, it appears to me that even according to the Rambam and those who stand by his approach—that the blessings do not invalidate, like any blessing that does not invalidate—this is only regarding a huppah that he wrote of, such as intercourse for the sake of marriage or actual seclusion in a closed room fit for intercourse at that moment. However, regarding all huppot other than these, which are only preparations to indicate the finalized marriage for this couple, as long as they have not recited the seven blessings over them, the marriage is not finalized. Perhaps this is the reasoning of the poskim who hold that the blessings are essential to the huppah, and therefore it is necessary to recite the birkat hatanim before the finalization of the marriage. [And regarding the essential points that we explained, the Gra also wrote in subsection 9 that seclusion is not required at all, but rather that she be in his domain, see there; and we have explained that the Rambam also holds this way. And see Rashi, Kiddushin 10a, s.v. "zu" etc. "and she is married, it is obvious" etc. "from all that is pure in your house he shall eat it," see there. And see Yevamot 110 in Rashi, s.v. "avi kursia," in a palanquin, and it was initially thought like other huppot where he had not yet had intercourse with her, see there and examine it carefully].

There is one who says that it is proper that at the time he betrothes her according to our custom—where the kiddushin is at the time of the chuppah—the groom and the bride should not stand under the sheet spread over the poles, which is the chuppah, but rather they should stand before it, and afterwards when they begin to recite the seven blessings, they should stand under the chuppah [Bach]. The reason is so that the chuppah should not precede the kiddushin. However, we have not seen anyone who was concerned for this. Behold, according to what the great authorities wrote, that the essence of the chuppah is what they eat afterwards in a private place, there is certainly no concern in this [ibid.]. And even according to our custom there is no concern in this, for we have already explained that our chuppah is because they have thus accepted upon themselves that this is the chuppah and the completion of the nisuin, and she becomes his full wife; and this is after they have finished the seven blessings, as I have written, for then is the completion of the chuppah and not before. It turns out, then, that the kiddushin precedes the chuppah, for before the blessings the status of chuppah does not apply to it. And as for the fact that the preparations for the nisuin are before the kiddushin, there is no concern at all in this.

Since a betrothed man and woman are forbidden from yichud, our teacher, the Rema, therefore wrote that a betrothed man who is with his betrothed woman in one house, they recite the seven blessings lest they seclude themselves. Thus far his words. And even though blessings without a chuppah are nothing, nevertheless, according to what the Rambam wrote, that with his intent for the sake of marriage a chuppah is not required, they therefore recite the seven blessings, for then it is obvious that if he cohabits with her he will intend for marriage, and he would not leave that which is permitted and consume that which is forbidden. Furthermore, according to the poskim who hold that the blessings are a prerequisite, it is necessary to bless for them [Beit Shmuel, subsection 1]. Furthermore, since they stay together in a house for a long time, it is like a courtyard belonging to both of them, and their yichud constitutes marriage and she is permitted to him after the blessing [Chelkat Mechokek, subsection 1]. And all this is according to their custom where she was already betrothed, but according to our custom where the kiddushin take place at the time of the chuppah, the blessings are of no avail for she has not yet been betrothed. Therefore, the groom-to-be must distance himself from his bride-to-be until the time of the wedding.

We have already written in the name of the Rambam that one who betrothes a woman and recited the birkat chatanim but did not yet seclude himself with her in his home, she is still an arusah, for birkat chatanim does not effect the nisuin, but rather the entry into the chupah. Thus far his words. However, if he cohabits with her for the sake of nisuin, it is well, as I have written; and the intention of the Rambam is that if he does not cohabit with her and they do not seclude themselves immediately, the blessings are in vain.

And so too the reverse: if he betrothed and entered the huppah and did not recite the birkat hatanim—she is fully married, and he returns and recites the blessing even after several days. And even though all blessings must be recited prior to their performance, nevertheless, since in these blessings marriage is not mentioned at all, he can recite them even afterwards. However, the birkat erusin must be recited prior to the kiddushin, like all blessings which must be recited prior to their performance.

Several of the poskim wrote that there is no huppah for a widow, and their foundation is from the Yerushalmi, and it will be explained with the help of Heaven in siman 64 that there is no proof from the Yerushalmi. And it is simple that according to the opinion of the Rambam that the huppah is the yihud, and likewise according to those who hold that the huppah is the departure into his domain, why should there be a distinction between a virgin and a widow? However, according to those who hold that the essence of the huppah is the house that they designate for the dwelling of the groom and the bride and with decorated sheets, and likewise according to those who hold that the essence of the huppah is the spreading of the sudar or the hinuma, certainly since for a widow they do not do so, huppah is not applicable to her and the essence of her acquisition is through yihud fit for cohabitation. And likewise according to our huppot where they do not make a public display for a widow when she marries a widower, and she does not cover her head, and they do not have shoshvinin nor musical instruments, and they do not lead them to the courtyard of the beit knesset, but rather in private they set up poles with a spread cloth in a house and he betroths her and they say the sheva berakhot—this is not an acquisition of huppah, and he must acquire her through yihud fit for cohabitation. And in siman 64 more will be explained regarding this with the help of Heaven.

Before entering the chuppah, one must write a ketubah for her, and afterwards he will be permitted to his wife, for thus our sages, of blessed memory, said: It is forbidden to remain with one's wife even one hour without a ketubah. So ruled the Rambam, and our teacher, the Beit Yosef, brought it in section 3. And one should not ask why the obligation is to write it before the chuppah—let him write it after the chuppah before he has relations with her—for it can be said that the Rambam follows his reasoning, as he holds that one requires a chuppah fit for relations, and without a ketubah it is not fit for relations [the Maggid Mishneh, chapter 10, halacha 7]. According to this, for us, as we do not rule like him in this as was written in siman 61, it would be permitted to write it even afterwards; and that which our teacher, the Rema, did not comment on this is because according to our custom we interrupt with the reading of the ketubah under the chuppah between the blessing of erusin and the marriage; if so, even without the reasoning of the Rambam, it is necessary to write it before the chuppah, and such is the custom.

But the ketubah alone does not effect nisuin; therefore, one who betroths a woman and wrote a ketubah for her, but she has not yet entered the chuppah, she is still an arusah and is not a nesuah, for the ketubah does not effect nisuin. And if he died or divorced her, the Rambam wrote that she collects the ikkar ketubah only from unencumbered property and not from liened property, and the tosefet she does not collect at all even if he wrote it for her. And his reasoning is that he holds that the ketubah is nothing, for he only wrote it for her on the condition of marrying her, and only the ikkar ketubah was like an oral debt and therefore she collects only from unencumbered property. But if he betrothed a woman and did not write a ketubah for her and he died or divorced her while she was an arusah – she has nothing, even the ikkar, for they did not institute the ikkar ketubah for her until she marries or until he writes it; and this is the opinion of the Rambam.

And there are some of our teachers who hold that a betrothed woman has a ketubah, as in several places in the Shas this is proven; and if he did not write it for her, she collects from unencumbered property, and if he wrote it for her, she collects even from encumbered property like all other documents. However, if he did not write it for her, it would seem that even according to this opinion she does not collect from encumbered property. Yet the Rosh, of blessed memory, wrote that even when he did not write it for her, she collects from encumbered property by virtue of a condition of the beit din. And it appears from the words of the Rosh in another place that he was in doubt regarding this law. Furthermore, even if he wrote it for her from the time of erusin and then wrote it for her again from the time of nisuin, she has waived the first lien and she only collects from purchasers from the time of the nisuin. And all this is regarding the principal of the ketubah, but regarding the tosefet ketubah, everyone agrees that even if he wrote it for her, she does not collect from the erusin, for it is a strong assessment that he only wrote it for her on the condition of entering the marriage canopy with her. And the poskim wrote that the custom is like the Rambam, not to collect a ketubah for a betrothed woman, for in all the places in the Gemara where it is explained that a betrothed woman has a ketubah, the Rambam establishes it as a case where he wrote it for her. And such is the system of the Geonim, that since in the Gemara they inquired whether a betrothed woman has a ketubah or not and it was not resolved there, one does not have the power to extract a ketubah.

One who betroths his daughter and she was widowed or divorced from the erusin even several times, before she reached adulthood – her ketubah belongs to her father, for she does not leave the authority of the father except through adulthood or through nisuin. Therefore, if she married and was widowed or divorced from the nisuin even before adulthood and even if she is a minor – her father has nothing in her. Even regarding the first ketubah that was written from the erusin, we do not follow the writing to say that since it was written during the authority of the father it should belong to the father; rather, we follow the collection, and the collection is after the nisuin.

An arusah who died, if the arus was a kohen—he does not contract tumah for her, as it is written: "Except for his kin" (Leviticus 21:2), and this refers to physical closeness, and an arusah is not his kin even if he betrothed her through intercourse, since she is forbidden to him until the marriage. And if he died, she is not obligated to contract tumah for him; even though it is a mitzvah to contract tumah for all relatives, nevertheless, for the arus it is not a mitzvah. However, there is no prohibition in it even if she is a kohenet, for the daughters of Aaron were not commanded regarding tumah, as it is written: "Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron" (Leviticus 21:1)—and not the daughters of Aaron.

And so too regarding inheritance – when she dies he does not inherit from her, for regarding inheritance it is also written "his kin," and since he does not inherit from her, he is also not obligated in her burial; rather, her father inherits from her and her father buries her. And so too, if the father is not present, her heirs shall bury her. And even if no inheritance remained from her, there is no obligation upon the arus to bury her and to incur expenses. And even if she was married to him in a place where, due to an enactment, he does not inherit from her, as I wrote in siman 53, he is not obligated in her burial. And in a place where he inherits half of her dowry, some say that the burial is upon both of them, and some say it is upon the husband alone.

And similarly, the betrothed man is not obligated in the maintenance of his betrothed, for as long as she is not married and there is no obligation of her conjugal rights upon him, there is also no obligation of her food and clothing upon him, unless she was a minor orphan who is maintained by the brothers, for in this case the betrothed man is obligated in her maintenance. For since she only has maintenance from the brothers until she becomes betrothed or until she reaches maturity, and this one is not a mature woman such that she could maintain herself but rather a minor or a maiden, and no man wants his betrothed to be degraded and go and beg at the doorways; therefore, even if he says that he is not concerned by this, they compel him to maintain her and he becomes obligated by the enactment of the sages, and this is the opinion of the Rambam. And some say that the betrothed man is not obligated in her maintenance even in such a case and she is maintained by the brothers [and it depends on the version there 53b]. And it is a simple matter that a woman who is merely engaged has no status of marriage at all, even compared to a betrothed woman, and even if he wrote a ketubah for her it is nothing if they retracted before the betrothal, for he only wrote it for her on the condition of betrothing her and taking her in marriage [Chelkat Mechokek], and all the more so regarding other matters she has no status like a betrothed woman.