PEH377

PEH377

A married woman had an illness that caused her great discomfort. She also had a bloody discharge. The doctors were not sure of the nature of the illness or how to cure it. It seemed likely to them that the woman had suffered from the illness since she was a young girl. A Jewish doctor believed that the woman could be cured if she changed her circumstances. He also prescribed medicine for her. During the treatment, the doctor died. A non-Jewish doctor took over the treatment. He wanted to treat the illness with medications, but he himself said that they were not without risk; he advised the husband against intercourse. The woman did not take the medication but instead hid it. When the doctor realized that she was not telling him the truth, he abandoned the treatment. Now the spouses went to the Beth Din because the woman demanded that her husband have intercourse with her, while the husband, citing the majority of doctors, refused. Chija Cohen de Lara initially ruled that the case did not involve blood during intercourse; for that case, Maimonides had clearly decided. De Lara then ruled in favor of the husband, stating that he could not be forced to engage in intercourse. However, he imposed the obligation on him to do everything possible to cure his wife. [Despite consulting several doctors, I was unable to determine the nature of the illness. Perhaps, as one doctor suggested, the woman was merely hysterical.]

4

24

1758-06-24

1758-12-01

Cohen

Cohen de Lara, Chija

Abendana

Abendana de Britto, Isaac Chaim