Skip to main content

Thought for the Day: Dowry, Property, and Profit Rights for Woman

I couldn't make this up.  According to my very, very cool Hebrew-American-English dictionary, the word "m'log" (mem-lamed-cholam-gimmel) means "usufruct".  I am not even going to bother to translate that; you can look it up if you are that interested.  When that sort of thing happens, my plan is to try the word as a verb instead of a noun.  I was not disappointed: malag (mem-lamed-gimmel) means: to scald (hmm... not what I am seeking); to pour boiling water on (shouldn't end a sentence -- even a fragment -- in a preposition, but I assume it is Israelis who wrote this dictionary, so I'll be forgiving; still not it); to benefit from rent/dividends -- THAT'S IT!

The woman in a Jewish marriage takes a lot of responsibility and risk; the Torah mitigates that somewhat via the k'suva.  The usual situation is that the man takes ownership of income and anything the wife acquires during the marriage, in consideration of which the k'suvah guarantees her a lump sum payment of 200 zuz (if she hasn't been married before).  In today's market that comes to approximately $400.00 (according to Aish HaTorah, updated for current price of silver); don't spend it all in one place.  But that's only the beginning.

Property that she brings into the marriage comes in two flavors: nichsei m'log (ah-hah!  that's why I was looking up that word)/usufruct property, and nichsei tzon barzel/iron sheep property.  Nichsei tzon barzel would be something like a dowry.  Say the father is willing to give 10 camels for an appropriate suitor.  We appraise the property, which in this case is $10,000 for ordinary camels; he gets that camels, but the $10,000 is written into the k'suva as money to be returned to her on his death or upon divorce (lo aleinu).  It is called "tzon barzel" because its value to her never changes; the husband takes all the risk.

Nichsei m'log (is there any reason to translate that... be honest, usufruct doesn't mean anything more to you than "m'log" does; unless you are a lawyer... don't get me started), on the other hand remains wholly owned by the woman, but the husband reaps any profits.  If she owns an orchard, for example, the crop produced each season belongs to the husband so long as he is alive and is her husband.  The nichsei m'log property is not written into the k'suva because it always belongs to her.

There are some fascinating details about what if she sells her factory or orchard and then dies before her husband (so he should inherit from her, but there is the sale thing).  Or the fruit gets stolen and the thief pays double (keifel)... who gets the keifel?  There's more, but I guess we'll need to discuss it another time.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for the Day: Love in the Time of Corona Virus/Anxiously Awaiting the Mashiach

Two scenarios: Scenario I: A young boy awakened in the middle of the night, placed in the back of vehicle, told not to make any noise, and the vehicle speeds off down the highway. Scenario II: Young boy playing in park goes to see firetruck, turns around to see scary man in angry pursuit, poised to attack. I experienced and lived through both of those scenarios. Terrifying, no? Actually, no; and my picture was never on a milk carton. Here's the context: Scenario I: We addressed both set of our grandparents as "grandma" and "grandpa". How did we distinguish? One set lived less than a half hour's drive; those were there "close grandma and grandpa". The other set lived five hour drive away; they were the "way far away grandma and grandpa". To make the trip the most pleasant for all of us, Dad would wake up my brother and I at 4:00AM, we'd groggily -- but with excitement! -- wander out and down to the garage where we'd crawl
Post a Comment
Read more

Thought for the Day: אוושא מילתא Debases Yours Shabbos

My granddaughter came home with a list the girls and phone numbers in her first grade class.  It was cute because they had made it an arts and crafts project by pasting the list to piece of construction paper cut out to look like an old desk phone and a receiver attached by a pipe cleaner.  I realized, though, that the cuteness was entirely lost on her.  She, of course, has never seen a desk phone with a receiver.  When they pretend to talk on the phone, it is on any relatively flat, rectangular object they find.  (In fact, her 18 month old brother turns every  relatively flat, rectangular object into a phone and walks around babbling into it.  Not much different than the rest of us, except his train of thought is not interrupted by someone else babbling into his ear.) I was reminded of that when my chavrusa (who has children my grandchildrens age) and I were learning about אוושא מילתא.  It came up because of a quote from the Shulchan Aruch HaRav that referred to the noise of תקתוק
Post a Comment
Read more

Thought for the Day: David HaMelech's Five Stages of Finding HaShem In the World

Many of us "sing" (once you have heard what I call carrying a tune, you'll question how I can, in good conscience, use that verb, even with the quotation marks) Eishes Chayil before the Friday night Shabbos meal.  We feel like we are singing the praises of our wives.  In fact, I have also been to chasunas where the chasson proudly (sometimes even tearfully) sings Eishes Chayil to his new eishes chayil.  Beautiful.  Also wrong.  (The sentiments, of course, are not wrong; just a misunderstanding of the intent of the author of these exalted words.) Chazal (TB Brachos, 10a) tell us that when Sholmo HaMelech wrote the words "She opens her mouth Mwith wisdom; the torah of kindness is on her tongue", that he was referring to his father, Dovid HaMelech, who (I am continuing to quote Chazal here) lived in five worlds and sang a song of praise [to each].  It seems to me that "world" here means a perception of reality.  Four times Dovid had to readjust his perc
Post a Comment
Read more