1,688. Filing a Claim Over a Blemish

Hilchos Ishus 25:2

The rule in the previous halacha also applies when a man marries a woman without making any conditions about blemishes and she is subsequently found to have one of the blemishes described in halacha 7:7. If the husband didn’t know about this blemish and willingly accept it, he may divorce her without paying the baseline amount or additional sum of her kesubah. If there’s a local bathhouse and he has (female) relatives, he cannot plead ignorance even if the blemish is in a hidden place because he can check with his relatives. We therefore assume that he heard about the woman’s blemish and consented. If there’s no bathhouse or he doesn’t have relatives, he can file a claim about blemishes that are not usually seen. Recurring seizures are considered a blemish that is not normally seen. A husband cannot file a claim about blemishes that are normally seen; since they are visible, we assume that he was aware of them and consented. This only applies in places where women walk around in public, as was the case in the Rambam’s time and locale. In places where women don’t go out in public - and if a girl goes to the bathhouse at night, she does so veiled - with the result that no one ever sees her except for her own relatives, a man can also file a claim about blemishes that can be plainly seen. This is only the case if there’s no local bathhouse or he has no relatives. If there’s a bathhouse, then he may not file a claim in a place where women don’t go out with their faces uncovered because we assume that his relatives have seen her in the bathhouse. If this woman’s practice is to cover herself even in the bathhouse, or if she bathes privately so that she won’t be seen, then her husband can file a claim even about blemishes that can be plainly seen. These parameters are based on logic; they are not mandated by the Torah.

Hilchos Ishus 25:3

Some Gaonim ruled that the Sages’ statement about checking with relatives also applies to friends. Based on that assumption, if there’s a local bathhouse, a man could never file a claim because there would always be a friend whose wife or sister can check for him. In such a case, we would always assume that he was aware of her blemish and consented. The Rambam, however, doesn’t agree with this approach because there are some concerns that a person will only reveal to his relatives. Not only that, there are matters on which he will only accept the word of his relatives.