1,819. Divorcing a Woman Who Has Lost Her Faculties

Hilchos Geirushin 10:22

There is a mitzvah for a man to divorce a woman who acts inappropriately, as per Proverbs 22:10, “Send away one who scorns and conflict will depart.” If a woman has been divorced for sexual misconduct, it would not be appropriate for an upstanding man to marry her. This is out of concern that people will say, “Person A sent away this bad woman and person B brought her home.”

Hilchos Geirushin 10:23

If a man’s wife loses the ability to hear and speak, she can be effectively divorced by giving a get; if she loses her ability to reason, she cannot be divorced until she recovers her faculties. The latter was enacted by the Sages so that a woman in such a situation shouldn’t be left alone, vulnerable prey to unscrupulous people, unable to take care of herself. Accordingly, her husband can provide her with a place a live, food and drink by using her money, and marry someone else. He is not required to provide her with her maintenance, clothes and conjugal duties, as a husband normally must because a mentally sound person is not compelled to live with a mentally unsound person as husband and wife. The husband is not required to provide this woman with medical treatment, nor is he required to redeem her if she is taken captive. If he divorces her, the divorce is effective. In such a case, he must remove her from his home and he is no longer obligated to take care of her.