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such a high risk of having blemished children. If the chances are lower 3 ple will settle for, once already married, even if initially they would
than that, then it may not be considered a mekach ta’us, since even a have avoided the match. There are other blemishes, however, which
healthy couple have no guarantee that their children will be healthy. are severe enough to warrant a separation, even after marriage. It’s
It is written in the Torah: “Do not stand idly by the blood of your possible that the blemish mentioned in Sefer Chassidim is the latter
fellowman” (Vayikra 19:16). The Rambam writes (Hilchos Rotze’ach kind, which would qualify the marriage as a mistaken transaction.
1:14): “Whoever is able to save a life but does not do so violates the However, although a Jewish girl would not initially desire to marry
precept of ‘Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellowman.’ So, too, the child of a gentile father, once married, she is not likely to seek a
if one sees one’s friend drowning in the river or he hears people who divorce. Therefore, the halacha does not require that this defect be
want to harm him or set a trap for him and does not tell his friend, revealed at the time of marriage.
he too, violates the precept ‘Do not stand idly by the blood of your (I heard that one of the great Torah scholars of the generation was
fellowman.’” asked about a groom who wet his bed at night. Is one obligated to
The Chafetz Chaim (Issurei Rechilus, Principle #9) teaches: If some- reveal this to potential spouses? He answered that there is no ob-
one is about to go into partnership with another, and it is likely that ligation to reveal this. This was surprising to me since we learn in
the partnership will harm him, one is obligated to tell him, in order Even Ha’ezer that one does not force a woman to live with a man
to save him. So too, if one sees a simple man enter a store, and the who wets his bed at night (Be’er Heitev 154:103) implying that this is
store owner is known as a man of deception who aspires for just such a serious defect. (See Even Ha’ezer, 117:5) Perhaps this Torah scholar
a customer in order to deceive him, either in the measure of an item thought that since nowadays there are technical aids to mitigate the
or its price, then one needs to say this to the customer, and warn him unpleasantness caused by bedwetting, and it may be treatable by
not to enter that store. medication, especially after the marriage, perhaps it is not a blemish
The Kiryas Sefer (Hilchos Mechirah, Ch. 18) explains that just as serious enough to warrant a divorce. This requires further study.)
there is a Torah prohibition of deception in sales, so too there is a In light of the above, we can now answer the questions as follows:
Torah prohibition of deception in other matters. According to his
words, there is a prohibition of deception in shidduchim. Therefore, if
the person knew he was a carrier of a genetic disease and concealed it 1 AnsweR to Question 1
from his spouse, we are obligated to reveal it to the healthy spouse. We
must do this in order to save the healthy spouse, and in order to save It seems that bedieved, the husband would not want to divorce his wife
the carrier from violating a prohibition. But even if he did not know because of the congenital cataract, since nowadays surgery can remove
he was a carrier and did not violate the prohibition of deception, we it. Even though the children will have to wear strong eyeglasses, this
would still have to reveal it to the healthy spouse, since it is likely that blemish is not so great that people will laugh at him, avoid him, or
their marriage is invalid. If the healthy partner wanted a divorce, beis wonder about him. In such a case, it is forbidden for the physician to
din would agree and maybe even force the divorce. Therefore, one tell the husband about his wife’s blemish. If he does so, he violates the
must speak up so as not to violate the precept “Do not stand idly by prohibition of slander or gossip, because he causes a fight between the
the blood of your fellowman.” husband, who feels cheated, and his wife, who hid her blemish from
Thus it is a mitzvah for the genetic counselor to reveal the truth to him. (All this applies after their marriage. If they are not yet married,
the healthy spouse so that he can decide whether or not to continue one must carefully weigh whether it is necessary to inform the groom.

70 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Hereditary Vision Defects 2 63