The Business of Marriage: A Traditional Approach
The Business of Marriage: A Traditional Approach
Every successful partnership has clear guidelines; the responsibilities of each partner are clearly defined. The same holds true for the partnership of marriage, including each spouse’s monetary obligations. Torah and Chazal have laid the groundwork for a “working” kosher marriage and the obligations the husband and wife have toward each other.
It is the husband’s responsibility, according to halachah, to provide for his wife’s needs, and any supplemental income the wife earns belongs to her husband. There is the possibility for an alternative arrangement: A woman may choose to say, “Eini nezonis v’eini oseh” (I will not be supported and will not [contribute] my work), which would make her self-supporting and in position keep all her income.
In the times of Chazal, in certain socio-economic circles, it was acceptable for the husband to rely on his wife’s work if it was needed; he thus acquired her income. The Gemara speaks of spinning wool in this context and lays guidelines as to the standard amounts a woman would be expected to produce under this type of agreement. However, if either the husband or the wife came from an affluent background, so that they could afford to live without the wife joining the labor force, she was not required to work. If a couple has servants—or the means to hire them—they may be retained to do household according to the wife's wishes, even if the husband objects. (The housework was extensive and arduous in pre-Industrial times.)
How these standards apply to modern-day economics and women in the workforce will be discussed in tomorrow’s Halachah #767: The Business of Marriage: A Modern Approach.
https://halacha2go.com?number=766