1,579. A Woman's Second or Third Marriage

Hilchos Ishus 15:14

If a woman marries one man, remains married to him for ten years without having children, and divorces, she is permitted to marry someone else. If she remained married to the second husband for ten years without having children, she should not marry a third time. If she does marry a third time, her second husband divorces her without paying her the value of her kesubah. This is only the case when a husband doesn’t have another wife and has not already fulfilled the mitzvah of procreation.

Hilchos Ishus 15:15

If a woman goes to court and testifies that her husband is impotent or infertile, the judges try to arrange a compromise. They advise the woman to remain married for ten years and to return at that time if she hasn’t given birth. They may try to delay such a case but they won’t require the woman to continue living with her husband and they won’t treat her like a person who “rebels” by spitefully withholding intimacy from their spouse. Rather, discussions are extended in an attempt to broker a compromise.