Meir’s responsa as well as in his content out-of an excellent responsum by the R
Rabbi Meir b. Baruch from Rothenburg (Maharam, c.1215–1293) produces one “A great Jew need prize their partner over he honors himself. If one strikes your partner, you ought to feel penalized a great deal more severely compared to hitting someone. For 1 is actually enjoined so you can award an individual’s spouse but is perhaps not enjoined so you’re able to award each other. . If the he continues during the striking their own, the guy is going to be excommunicated, lashed, and experience new severest punishments, actually on the extent off amputating his sleeve. When the their wife try willing to undertake a breakup, he need to breakup her and you can spend their particular the brand new ketubbah” (Even ha-Ezer #297). He says you to definitely a female who is strike by the their unique spouse try entitled to an immediate divorce in order to have the currency owed their unique within her marriage settlement. His advice to slice off of the hand out of a chronic beater from his fellow echoes regulations for the Deut. –twelve, in which the unusual abuse out of cutting-off a hands try used to a lady which attempts to rescue their own spouse within the a way that shames the fresh beater.
To validate his view, R. Meir uses biblical and talmudic thing to help you legitimize their views. At the end of this responsum the guy discusses this new legal precedents for this decision about Talmud (B. Gittin 88b). Therefore the guy concludes one “even in the way it is in which she was prepared to take on [occasional beatings], she you should never take on beatings instead of a finish coming soon.” He points to the fact a digit has the possible so you’re able to kill and that if tranquility is impossible, the rabbis need to help you persuade him so you can divorce or separation their away from “his own 100 % free tend to,” however, if one demonstrates impossible, push him so you’re able to divorce proceedings her (as it is welcome by law [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.
However, they certainly were overturned of the extremely rabbis for the afterwards generations, beginning with Roentgen
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 houkuttelevia Afrikkalainen-naisia tГ¤hГ¤n mennessГ¤ 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).
