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The Mishnah on 63b states: A woman who rebels against her husband (moredes) is fined; her marriage contract is reduced by seven dinars each week. Rabbi Yehuda says: Seven half-dinars [terapa’ikin] each week. Until when does he reduce her marriage contract? Until the reductions are equivalent to her marriage contract, i.e., until he no longer owes her any money, at which point he divorces her without any payment.
The Gemara first considers rebellion as a refusal to participate in conjugal relations. For men who refuse their wives, that woman is permitted to divorce him, for he has not met the requirements of their marriage contract. When a woman refuses intercourse, she may lose her ketubah. The rabbis discuss the significance of conjugal relations compared with the ability to perform tasks. A woman might be ill or menstruating. When is she deemed a rebellious woman? a “moredet”
We explore the (asymmetric) legal status of the moredet as well as early talmudic roots for the halachah, ending with a comparison with Qumran laws of the rebellious wife.