The gemorah in Moed Katan Daf 8a says,
אמר רב כהנא אמר רב יהודה אמר רב מעשה באדם אחד שכינס מעות לעלות לרגל ובא ספדן ועמד על פתח ביתו ונטלתן אשתו ונתנתן לו ונמנע ולא עלה
Although perhaps this is only a “kasha on a maaseh,” how could his wife take the money from her husband and give it? It’s technically not her money to give. Do we have to assume she gave it with his reshus (authority)? Why does the gemorah davka (specifically) describe his wife giving the money?
Answer:
The money is not hers, and we must assume that she had permission to use the money.
For small amounts, permission is assumed, and there is no need to ask every time. In the case of the story, it sounds like the amount was fairly large, and it is possible that the wife had general permission to make use of even larger amounts.
It is also possible that she used the money without permission and against halachah. We don’t know who this ‘adam echad’ was, and certainly not who his wife was.
