Study Bava Kamma folio 89B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
דאי מחלה לגבי בעל – לא קא מפסיד, דהשתא נמי לא מידי קא יהבה ליה! סוף סוף, כל לגבי בעל – ודאי מחלה, ואטרוחי בי דינא בכדי לא מטרחינן.
so that even if she were to forgive the debt of her marriage contract with regard to her husband, the one she injured would not lose anything, as now as well she is not giving him any payment, one could respond that ultimately, in any matter that will engender a benefit to her husband, she will certainly forgive the debt with regard to him. And we do not trouble the courts to supervise the sale of the financial advantage without cause.
אלא הא דתניא: וכן היא שחבלה בבעלה – לא הפסידה כתובתה, אמאי? תזבנינה ניהליה לכתובתה לבעלה בטובת הנאה – בהא חבלה, דאי מחלה לגבי בעל, ליכא פסידא!
The Talmud asks: But if the reason she does not sell the financial advantage of her marriage contract to obtain money with which to pay the injured party is that she would then forgive the debt of the marriage contract, then with regard to that which is taught in a baraita (Tosefta 9:22): And similarly, in a case where she was the one who injured her husband she has not lost her marriage contract as a result, as he does not collect compensation from the properties she brought into the marriage that are enumerated in the marriage contract, why does she not lose it? Let her sell the financial advantage of her marriage contract to her husband in order to obtain the money to compensate him for that injury that she caused him, as, if she will forgive the debt of her marriage contract with regard to her husband there will be no loss for the purchaser, i.e., her husband.
הא ודאי רבי מאיר היא, דאמר: אסור לאדם שישהא את אשתו אפילו שעה אחת בלא כתובה.
The Talmud answers: This baraita is certainly in accordance with the opinion of R' Meir, who says that it is prohibited for a man to remain living together with his wife for even one hour without her having a marriage contract. Therefore, the woman cannot sell the financial advantage of her marriage contract to her husband.