Saturday, January 15, 2022

Babylonian Talmud: Rava (alt. Rabba) (4th century) Making An Allowance for Polygyny if one Cannot Divorce an “Evil Wife”

In Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63b, we find the following allowance for polygyny if one has an “evil wife” but cannot afford to divorce them:

 

(VIII) Rabba said, “It is a miṣvah to divorce an evil wife, as it is written ‘Expel the scoffer and contention departs, quarrel and contumely cease’ [Prov. 22:10].” Rabba said, “in the case of an evil wife who has a large ketubba [i.e., marriage settlement] he should marry another [in addition], as they say, ‘With a rival and not with thorns [should one deal with his wife].’”
Rabba said, “A bad wife is as difficult as a story day, as it is said, ‘An endless dripping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike’ [Prov. 27:15].”
Rabba said, “Come and see how good is a good wife and how bad is a bad wife. How good is a good wife? As it is written, ‘He who finds a wife has found happiness . . .’ If Scripture is referring to the woman, how good is a good woman that Scripture praises her! If Scripture is referring the Torah, how good is a good woman that Torah is compared to her! How evil is an evil wife? As it is written, ‘Now I find woman more bitter than death . . . ‘ If Scripture is referring to the woman, how evil is an evil woman that Scripture derides her! If Scripture is referring to Gehenna [i.e., Hell], how evil is an evil woman that Gehenna is compared to her!”

 

. . . Rabba advises divorce of an evil wife. But what if a man cannot afford to divorce his wife? Then he should marry another, Rabba says, apparently in order to scare her into proper behavior. (Michael L. Satlow, Jewish Marriage in Antiquity [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001], 9-10)