Meir’s responsa and also in their duplicate from a good responsum because of the Roentgen

Rabbi Meir b. Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam, c.1215–1293) produces one “Good Jew must award his wife more the guy honors himself. If a person effects your wife, you will need to become penalized a great deal more seriously compared to hitting another individual. For example is actually enjoined to prize an individual’s partner it is not enjoined in order to prize the other person. . If the he continues from inside the striking their own, the guy will be excommunicated, lashed, and you will sustain the brand new severest punishments, also towards the the quantity of amputating his arm. When the their partner are ready to deal with a splitting up, he need certainly to separation their unique and you will spend their own the fresh new ketubbah” (Even ha-Ezer #297). He says you to definitely a lady that is struck by their spouse are permitted a direct divorce proceedings also to get the currency owed their particular within her relationship payment. Their pointers to slice from the hands off a chronic beater off their other echoes legislation within the Deut. –twelve, the spot where the uncommon punishment regarding cutting off a give was used so you can a lady whom attempts to help save her spouse for the good way that shames the fresh new beater.

So you’re able to validate his opinion, R. Meir spends biblical and you may talmudic matter in order to legitimize his feedback. At the end of that Singaporean kvinner som leter etter kjГ¦rlighetsdatingsider it responsum he covers brand new judge precedents for it choice on the Talmud (B. Gittin 88b). Hence the guy closes one to “even in the outcome in which she was happy to undertake [occasional beatings], she cannot accept beatings instead a finish in sight.” He what to the reality that a hand contains the prospective so you can destroy which if peace try impossible, new rabbis need to convince him to split up their own out-of “his own 100 % free have a tendency to,” however if you to demonstrates hopeless, push your to help you separation her (as well as welcome legally [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.

But not, these people were overturned because of the extremely rabbis into the later generations, beginning 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).