1,818. Giving Credence to a Rumor

Hilchos Geirushin 10:20

If a woman is presumed to be married or betrothed and a rumor circulates in town that she has been divorced, we do not credit the rumor and we continue under the original presumption even if the rumor has spread among most or all of the city. Let’s say, however, that a rumor circulates throughout the city that a woman was betrothed, even being reported in court. In such a case, we are concerned that the woman was betrothed, as was discussed in Hilchos Ishus. If a rumor later circulates that she was divorced from the betrothal of the first rumor, we consider her divorced. Since she was only prohibited based on a rumor, she can be permitted based on a rumor.

Hilchos Geirushin 10:21

A man may not marry a woman intending to divorce her, nor may he keep as a wife and continue to be intimate with a woman whom he intends to divorce. A man shouldn’t divorce his first wife except for gross misconduct, based on Deuteronomy 24:1, “If he discovers in her something unseemly....” One shouldn’t be quick to divorce his first wife but with a second wife, if he hates her, he can send her away.