Meir’s responsa as well as in his duplicate of a beneficial responsum because of the R
Rabbi Meir b. Baruch regarding Rothenburg (Maharam, c.1215–1293) writes you to “A great Jew need prize their wife more he celebrates himself. If a person strikes an individual’s spouse, you will need to end up being punished a whole lot more honestly than for hitting someone. For one is enjoined in order to honor an individual’s spouse but is not enjoined so you’re able to honor each other. . If the the guy persists in the hitting their particular, he can be excommunicated, lashed, and you may suffer the fresh severest punishments, also with the the amount regarding amputating his sleeve. If their spouse try happy to accept a divorce, the guy need certainly to splitting up their unique and you may pay their unique the newest ketubbah” (Actually ha-Ezer #297). He says one a female who’s hit of the their own spouse are entitled to a direct separation also to receive the currency owed their particular inside her wedding settlement. Their pointers to chop off the give of a habitual beater from their other echoes what the law states inside Deut. –a dozen, where the strange abuse away from cutting-off a hand are applied in order to a lady whom attempts to conserve their partner for the good method in which shames the fresh beater.
To help you justify his view, R. Meir spends biblical and you may talmudic situation in order to legitimize his feedback. At the conclusion of it responsum the guy covers the fresh new judge precedents because of it choice on Talmud (B. Gittin 88b). Thus the guy stops that “even in the case where she try ready to undertake [unexpected beatings], she cannot undertake beatings rather than an-end in sight.” The guy things to that a fist comes with the possible so you can kill hence if the peace was impossible, the latest rabbis should try to help you encourage your so you’re able to divorce case their particular out of “their own totally free tend to,” in case you to definitely demonstrates hopeless, push him so you can separation her (as it is allowed by-law https://brightwomen.net/fi/latvialaiset-naiset/ [ka-torah]).
This responsum is found in a collection of R. Simhah b. Samuel of Speyer (d. 1225–1230). By freely copying it in its entirety, it is clear that R. Meir endorses R. Simhah’s opinions. R. Simhah, using an aggadic approach, wrote that a man has to honor his wife more than himself and that is why his wife-and not his fellow man-should be his greater concern. R. Simhah stresses her status as wife rather than simply as another individual. His argument is that, like Eve, “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20), she was given for living, not for suffering. She trusts him and thus it is worse if he hits her than if he hits a stranger.
not, they certainly were overturned by the extremely rabbis for the later years, starting with R
R. Simhah lists all the possible sanctions. If these are of no avail, he takes the daring leap and not only allows a compelled divorce but allows one that is forced on the husband by gentile authorities. It is rare that rabbis tolerate forcing a man to divorce his wife and it is even rarer that they suggested that the non-Jewish community adjudicate their internal affairs. He is one of the few rabbis who authorized a compelled divorce as a sanction. Many Ashkenazi rabbis quote his opinions with approval. Israel b. Petahiah Isserlein (1390–1460) and R. David b. Solomon Ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz, 1479–1573). In his responsum, Radbaz wrote that Simhah “exaggerated on the measures to be taken when writing that [the wifebeater] should be forced by non-Jews (akum) to divorce his wife . because [if she remarries] this could result in the offspring [of the illegal marriage, according to Radbaz] being declared illegitimate ( Lit. “bastard.” Offspring of a relationship forbidden in the Torah, e.g., between a married woman and a man other than her husband or by incest. mamzer )” (part 4, 157).