Can the husband beat her? According to Rambam, "Any woman who refuses to do one of the jobs she is obligated to do is forced to do it even by the rod." The context provided by the subsequent sentence suggests that this beating is done by the court, or at least at the court's directive, rather than on the husband's initiative: "If he says that she is not doing it but she says that she is not refusing to do it, a woman is placed between them, or neighbors. And this matter goes according to what the judge sees is possible in the matter (she-yire ha-dayan efshar be-devar)."32
In his notes on the Rambam, Rabbenu Avraham ben David of Posquieres (Raabad, 1120-1198) takes exception to Rambam's formulation: "I have never heard that the rod is inflicted on women; rather, her financial support and food are reduced until she gives in."33 Rabbi Shem Tov ben Avraham ibn Gaon (14th century, Spain) comments that "This is an old dispute" and concludes that the judge must use his discretion, whether that means using words or curses or even the rod to compel compliance with judicial directives.34 Rabbi Vidal de Tolusha (14th century, Spain) cites the Rashba and Ramban as holding the same position as the Rambam, and he himself affirms it; he then observes that some of the early scholars (rishonim) held that such a wife is ostracized; and finally, he quotes the Raabad's note without further comment.35 Most of the discussion about the wife who refuses to do her work focuses on whether she has the right to do so, and under what circumstances, rather than on the question of whether the court or the husband can force the wife to do her job by using the rod. There is one case in which the husband is explicitly permitted to hit his wife. Rabbi Yisrael ben Petihyahu Isserlein (1390-1460) was sent this question: One who heard his wife cursing and denigrating her father and mother and chastised her verbally for it several times to no avail — is he permitted to hit her in order to rebuke her that she should not do this, or not? In his answer, citing the Mordekhai and the responsum of Rabbenu Simha, Isserlein points out that hitting one's wife is normally a serious transgression, but permits it in this case in order to prevent the woman from violating another serious prohibition. Since, Isserlein argues, it is established that a man may strike his slaves in order to prevent them from committing a transgression, there is a principle that "whomever is the ward (tahat yado) of someone, and he sees that he is committing a transgression, he is permitted to strike him and chastise him in order to keep him from the transgression, and there is no need to take him to court." This, of course, would apply to one's wife.36 Writing a century later, Isserles offers a similar ruling: But if she curses him or denigrates his father and mother, and he rebukes her verbally but she pays no attention to him, there are those who say that it is permitted to hit her, and there are those who say that it is forbidden to hit even a wicked woman; and the first view is the principal one.37 As we have seen above, several sources state that when a case of wife- beating is taken to court, the wife's claim may be presumed to be justified. This, along with the fear of severe judicial and financial repercussions — and prevailing social attitudes — could tend to limit the extent to which these rulings would be seen as a green light for hitting one's wife. Clearly, the intent of those who permit hitting is to prevent transgression; thus hitting as a punitive measure would be disallowed under the 'do not add' stricture. It is questionable in any case whether striking one's wife in anything less than a life-and- death situation could actually be a constructive act. Just as "a mitzvah draws forth another mitzvah, and a transgression draws forth another transgression,"38 so too does one violent act draw forth another violent act. It would be instructive to know what actually happened to couples to whom Isserlein's ruling was applied. It may be worthwhile to keep in mind the values expressed by Epstein most recently in the `Arukh HaShulhan: The principle of the law holds even today when we do not have the power to properly follow the law; in any event we investigate thoroughly and try to make peace between husband and wife, and if we see that it is impossible to make peace between them, we try to get them, by way of a bill of divorce, to divorce each other out of goodwill (she-yigarshu ze et zot me-ritzonam hatov).39 © Jon-Jay Tilsen, 16 June 1988 Jerusalem Israel & 11 April 1997 New Haven Connecticut USA On Oct 25, 8:18 am, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > burkasrugly posted: "Fellow Infidels, Wild Bill for America is telling > it like it is again. This time he rips into feminists and their silence on > the mistreatment of women in the Islamic world. You don't want to miss > this one - Burkasruglyhttp://www.youtube.com/wat"; Respond to this post > by replying above this line > New post on *actjonesboroar* > <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/author/burkasrugly/> Islam: The > Worldwide Wifebeating > Club<http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/islam-the-worldwide-wi...> > by > burkasrugly <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/author/burkasrugly/> > > Fellow Infidels, > > Wild Bill for America is telling it like it is again. This time he rips > into feminists and their silence on the mistreatment of women in the > Islamic world. You don't want to miss this one - Burkasrugly > > <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/islam-the-worldwide-wi...> > > Until next time, > > Burkasrugly > *burkasrugly <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/author/burkasrugly/>* | > October 24, 2012 at 11:47 pm | Tags: > feminists<http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/?tag=feminists>, > Islam <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/?tag=islam>, Wild Bill for > America <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/?tag=wild-bill-for-america> | > Categories: Radical Islam > <http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/?cat=259237>| URL:http://wp.me/p1t1Gt-PI > > Comment<http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/islam-the-worldwide-wi...> > See all > comments<http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/islam-the-worldwide-wi...> > > Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage > Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=80d8873ee52adffe4e178d01c25562cf...>. > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your > browser:http://actjonesboroar.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/islam-the-worldwide-wi... > Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com> -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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