[Avodah] A woman is acquired

[via Avodah]

[1] I  think that it is fairly clear that Jewish law does not believe that a
woman  is owned by her husband, the language of the Mishna notwithstanding.
Can  anyone point to a clear statement by Hazal or rishonim that supports  
my
supposition?

My thanks,
Shalom Z.  Berger
 
[2] I own my shoes. This gives me certain rights, such  as wearing them to 
the exclusion of anyone else, or the choice of who I might  lend them to. I 
also have certain responsibilities; I cannot simply destroy them  for no 
reason.

I own my tefillin too. But the things I can do with my  tefillin are much 
more limited than what I can do with my shoes.

I have  certain rights and responsibilities vis a vis my wife as well. Do I 
own her? I  don't know. Is there a real nafka mina, or is it just semantics?

Akiva  Miller




>>>>
 
[1] Along the lines of what R' Micha Berger posted.  On Ber 24:57 --  "Let 
us call the maiden and ask her what she wants to do" -- Rashi says, "Mikan  
she'ein masi'in es ha'isha ela mida'ata -- from here we learn that one does 
not  [or may not, or cannot] marry a woman without her consent."  I think 
he's  quoting Kesubos 57b.
 
I can't think of any kind of property whose consent is required before the  
property can be acquired.
 
[2] The analogy to tefillin is flawed.  You do not have any  obligations or 
responsibilities to your tefillin.  Rather, in regards to  your tefillin, 
you have obligations towards your Maker!  He has told you  what you must do, 
may do, or must not do, with  your tefillin.
 
A better analogy would have been to your ox or your dog, where you do  
actually have obligations to your animals, an obligation, for example, to feed  
the animal before you eat your own meal.  And a still better analogy would  
have been to acquiring a slave, about which the Talmud says "One who 
acquires a  Jewish slave is like one who has acquired a master! (Kiddushin 20a)" -- 
because  of all the obligations he incurs towards his slave.
 
So there does seem to be some kind of ownership that a husband has  
vis-a-vis his wife, but then, she also in some sense owns him.  Certainly  she has 
the right to make specific claims on him, because he has specific  
obligations towards her.  Shir Hashirim speaks about the love between  Hakadosh 
Baruch Hu and Am Yisrael in an extended poetic analogy to the  love between a 
husband and a wife.  What does the wife say about her  husband?  Dodi li ve'ani 
lo -- He belongs to me, and I belong to Him.
 

--Toby  Katz
t613k at aol.com
..
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