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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><BR>[1] I
think that it is fairly clear that Jewish law does not believe that a<BR>woman
is owned by her husband, the language of the Mishna notwithstanding.<BR>Can
anyone point to a clear statement by Hazal or rishonim that supports
my<BR>supposition?<BR><BR>My thanks,<BR>Shalom Z.
Berger</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>[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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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?<BR><BR>Akiva
Miller<BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>[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.</DIV>
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<DIV>I can't think of any kind of property whose consent is required before the
property can be acquired.</DIV>
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<DIV>[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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT><BR><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>--Toby
Katz<BR></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff>t613k@aol.com</FONT></STRONG><FONT lang=0
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PTSIZE="10"><BR><STRONG>..</STRONG></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2
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PTSIZE="10"><BR><STRONG>=============</STRONG><BR><BR><BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------</FONT></DIV>
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