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she wanted to see what was in front of her, she had to force them
open. He came to ask if he could break off the engagement. He left
beis din with a ruling that he is certainly free to break it off, with no
strings attached. Although we do not find this blemish mentioned by
Kohanim, because this is not included in the blemish “small eyes like
a goose,” nonetheless, people view this as a large blemish and highly
unusual. (Even Ha’ezer, #39 Pischei Teshuva, 102)
Now we come back to our question:
It is clear that the woman did an injustice by not revealing her
condition to her husband. However, being that they are already mar-
ried, much deliberation is required in order to decide whether or not
the physician is permitted to reveal the truth to her husband. Even
before the marriage, there is place to deliberate whether the physician
would be obligated to tell the groom about the hereditary congenital
cataracts of his bride.
The Chafetz Chaim (Hilchos Issurei Rechilus, Principle 9, # 3) wrote:
If someone sees that a couple is about to be married, and the groom
has serious deficiencies of which the bride is unaware, and if she knew
she would not marry him, then one is obligated to tell her. This is
included in the Torah precept “Do not stand idly by the blood of your
fellowman” (Vayikra 19:16).
However, this only applies when several conditions are met, such
as that the defect is a serious physical blemish rather some form of
“weakness” etc. The Chafetz Chaim does not define a “serious defect
or deficiency.”
In Sefer Chassidim (#507) it says: “A person should not cover up a
blemish in his family… if potential spouses would not marry him if
they knew of it. He should inform them of the blemish, lest they later
claim that the transaction was mistaken.” If so, the Mishnas Chassi-
dim asks, how do we explain the case (Yevamos 45a) of the man who
had a gentile father, whom Rav Yehudah advised to travel abroad and
seek a wife in a place where his origins were unknown. How did Rav
Yehudah not worry about a mistaken kiddushin?
One can answer according to the words of the Kehillos Yaakov
(Yevamos #44). He writes that there are some blemishes that peo-
62 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
the marriage. Essentially they are not considered married since the 3
marriage was a mistaken transaction. Therefore, their case resembles
that of the man on the verge of entering a potentially harmful part-
nership, and they must be forewarned.
If we know that the couple will not separate, we are still obligated
to reveal it to the healthy partner so that he/she can express consent
of the marriage in spite of the illness. Thus the marriage will be up-
held as valid.
We learn in Tractate Kesubos (75b): A person cannot make a claim
of mekach ta’us based on hidden blemishes if there is a bathhouse
in the city, because a person checks with his relatives before he gets
married. The Rambam (Hilchos Ishus 25:2) also rules: If there is a
bathhouse in the city and he had relatives, he cannot say “I did not
know about these blemishes”, even hidden blemishes, because he
checks with his relatives and it is presumed that he heard about the
blemishes and was willing to accept them.
This alludes to the fact that if he did not check her out, he caused
himself a loss and revealed that he is accepting of the blemishes.
In view of this, one can say that nowadays, when it is possible to
check before the wedding if the potential spouse is a carrier of genetic
diseases, if someone did not check this out, it is his loss, and he can-
not claim the marriage was a mistaken transaction. Similarly, it says
in the Chafetz Chaim (Hilchos Rechilus 9, #3): If the groom is deficient
in his knowledge of Torah, it is forbidden to reveal this to his bride,
for she herself is at fault for not asking Torah scholars to ascertain his
Torah knowledge.
However, if the accepted custom is not to check whether the poten-
tial spouse is a carrier of genetic diseases, and it is also unpleasant to
request that he/she undergo medical testing, this may be halachically
similar to a city without a bathhouse, where one can claim mekach
ta’us because of the blemishes. (Nowadays, when we have organi-
zations that arrange for genetic testing for those diseases commonly
looked into before an engagement, this is halachically like there is a
bathhouse in the city.)
The Ohr Gadol (#5) speaks about a woman who was lonesome,
Hereditary Defects 2 71