Kesuvah L'Arusa: When Does the Marital Obligation Begin?

This shiur analyzes a fundamental contradiction in the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s treatment of kesuvah obligations for an arusa (betrothed woman). The Mishna discusses the case of "Mishe'orastani nanas'ti" - a woman claiming she was raped after betrothal but before marriage. The Rambam rules she receives full kesuvah payment, but this creates four major difficulties: why doesn't he mention the husband's potential claim of "achshav haras tech" (you consented just now), why should she collect from mortgaged properties when an arusa normally only collects from free properties, why does she receive tosefes kesuvah when an arusa typically doesn't, and why introduce the possibility of consensual relations which would be "ein od daim parati" (undisputed obligation). Rabbi Zweig proposes that the Rambam holds kesuvah has two distinct components. First, there is a Torah (תורה) obligation (d'oraisa) for a husband to support his wife - this represents the fundamental marital relationship and applies even after his death, learned from the verse "k'mo yarap besulah." Second, there is a rabbinic enactment (d'rabbanan) requiring settlement payments upon divorce to prevent men from divorcing too easily ("shelo yihekel b'einav l'hotzi'ah").