1,659. A Woman Who Inherits Servants or Trees

Hilchos Ishus 22:22

Pursuant to the previous halacha, if a woman is injured by a third party, the settlement money should be used to purchase land, from which her husband may derive benefit from the profits. This will be addressed IY”H in Hilchos Choveil u’Mazik.

Hilchos Ishus 22:23

If a woman inherits servants, they should not be sold – not even if they’re older – because they are a reflection of her family’s honor. Let’s say that she inherits olive trees or grape vines but not the land on which they are planted. If they produce enough to cover the cost of maintaining them, then they shouldn’t be sold because they are a reflection of her family’s honor. If they don’t produce enough to cover their own expense, then they should be sold as firewood and the proceeds used to purchase land, from which the husband may derive benefit of its profits.