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Q&A: And I Will Support, Written, Not Written — What Difference Does It Make?

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And I Will Support, Written, Not Written — What Difference Does It Make?

Question

A certain Hasidic loudmouth 1 (maybe a rabbi/dayan) is currently making a huge fuss to the whole world that in all Ashkenazi marriage contracts, it seems to me, from Yafeh Nof, the word “and I will support” is omitted, and they are distributed בארץ ובעולם.
And according to the Be’er Sheva, the marriage contract is invalid…
And it is certainly customary to rule in legal documents like the Be’er Sheva, especially in marriage contracts.
 
So now people should run to rabbis and religious courts and make new marriage contracts.
Is he right?
After all, everybody knows that the male did not support, does not support, and will not support; on that understanding he gets an apartment from his father-in-law, he has no education and no motivation to support anyone.
In short, it’s a joke. And it’s obvious that the intent of the obligation is actually the exact opposite: that the wife will support him.
Maybe he’ll really learn in kollel. (And even if not, and he just drinks tea, the main thing is that he doesn’t work.) 
And any monetary stipulation is valid.
So yes, it is supposed to say that he supports her, but in reality that doesn’t happen, and neither side wants or even dreams that this will be fulfilled (and for some, it would even be a disaster if what is supposed to be written were actually fulfilled).
If so, seemingly one can remain calm and not run around paying money to rabbis and dayanim for more marriage contracts.
Is this word significant? (In the current reality)
What does the Rabbi rule?
 

Answer

I would say that it is certainly significant, since this is a fundamental obligation of the marriage contract. If nowadays people do not fulfill it, that is not okay. But the obligation itself still stands. However, it is possible that the reason it is not fulfilled is that the wife waives it, and then there is no problem. Still, one certainly does need to undertake the obligation.

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