From the Rav’s Desk – Q&A on after birth care and more

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Is a husband obligated to provide his wife with cleaning help after birth?[1]

Some Poskim[2] rule that a husband is obligated to hire a worker to help his wife after she gives birth in order so she can properly recover. [This ruling was given when it was customary for women after birth not to get up from her bed for four weeks after birth. However, in today’s times when women are already up and about several days after birth, one can argue that there is no longer an obligation to do so. Nonetheless, certainly if the wife is too weak due to the birth to be able to properly function and needs bedrest to recover, then the husband would need to hire help just as he would be required to do if she were sick. Based on this concept, many Rabbanim rule that a husband may be obligated to pay for his wife to stay in an afterbirth care center if she makes the request and is in need of it to recuperate from the birth.[3]]

[1] See Nishmas Avraham E.H. 3 p. 144

[2] Beis Shmuel E.H. 79:1; Beir Heiytiv E.H. 70:1; Teshuvas Rashal 45; Kneses Hagedola 70:2; Yad Aaron 70:1;

[3] Yad Yehuda E.H. 79:1; Avnei Derech 5:76

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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