1,609. A Widow Who Falls Ill or is Taken Captive

Hilchos Ishus 18:4

Let’s say that the heirs are five people who each require a kav of food living in the same house and eating together; they’ll have to make do with four kav in order to support the widow. The same principle applies to other household necessities. If the widow refuses to leave her father's house and demands that the heirs send her maintenance there, they have the right to tell her that she will get her full maintenance only if she lives in their home; if not, they will only give her the same share as any other member of the household. If she explains that the reason for her refusal is because it’s inappropriate – she being a young widow and the heirs being young men – then they must provide her with sufficient support for one who lives alone while she’s living in her father's house. Any money left over from a widow’s maintenance and clothes belongs to the heirs.

Hilchos Ishus 18:5

If a widow gets sick and will require medical care indefinitely, it is like her maintenance and the heirs must provide it; if she requires temporary medical care, it is paid for out of her kesubah. If a widow is taken captive, the heirs are not required to ransom her, even if she is waiting to perform yibum (levirate marriage) with one of her husband’s heirs. In fact, even if she was taken captive during her husband's lifetime, if he dies while she’s a prisoner, his heirs are not required to ransom her using money from his estate. Rather, she must be ransomed using her own money, or she can collect the value of her kesubah and use that to ransom herself.