By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com Albert Pujols is a St. Louis Cardinal’s first baseman.  This past Sunday, he hit two home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates, contributing to a win of  18 to 4 described by ESPN as a “romp.” Mr. Pujols may have won two home runs this past Sunday, but – in terms of halacha – his actions are, well, let’s just say that they are far from a home run. Last month, Mr. Pujols announced that he would file for divorce from his wife of 22 years.  His announcement came a few days after an Instagram post that she had just undergone brain surgery.  Doctors operated on her to remove a tumor that was discovered back in October. His exact words in his statement were, “I realize this is not the most opportune time with Opening Day approaching and other family events that have recently taken place. These situations are never easy and isn’t something that just happened overnight. As a devout Christian, this is an outcome that I never wanted to see happen..” This behavior, however, is far from a home run in terms of halacha  for two reasons: Firstly, the Talmud (Brachos 24a) tells us, “Ishto K’Gufo” – a person’s wife is like his very own body. Secondly, there is a full-fledged marital obligation to heal one’s wife. The great Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Rav Aryeh Levine zatzal, and the father-in-law of Rav Elyashiv zt”l once accompanied his wife to the doctor, and when asked by the doctor as to the reason for the visit – he responded, “My wife’s knee hurts us.” But before we get into the nitty-gritty of the obligation of a husband to heal a wife – let’s list the ten general obligations of a husband toward his wife.  The Rambam lists ten.  He must provide her with: 1] food and sustenance 2] clothing. 3]intimacy 4] redemption from kidnapping (lawyer fees, even bribery) 5] healing her 6] burying her after he dies 7] housing, food and sustenance in his home after he dies 8] the kesuva 9] providing for daughters after his death 10] providing for sons after his death. HEALING OBLIGATION We will focus on the healing obligation.  The Mishna in Kesuvos (51a) informs us of the obligation and it is clear that this obligation is not just to get her out of danger – but to heal her as much as possible.  In this author’s opinion, this includes not just surgeries and medicine, but OT and PT too. [See Amudei Mishpat Vol. II 10:21].  It is interesting to note that the obligation also includes praying for her recovery (see Ish v’Isha sh’zachu Vol. I p. 346). Let’s also remember that we read in Sefer Bereishis that Yaakov, our forefather, prayed in front of his wife, that she be healed from her state of barrenness.  One may ask, why in front of her?  Why didn’t he pray, say at the grave of a Tzaddik or of his forefathers?  This author would like to cite the Seforno to respond to this point.  The Seforno writes that he prayed in front of her in order to drum up even more empathy and concern for her in his prayers.  We see then that there is not only an obligation to pray (and to […]

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