From inside the 15th-millennium European countries we discover a whole lot more rabbis exactly who approve out of wifebeating to have the intention of education
This approach is illustrated in the collected responsa of Israel Isserlein (Austria, c. 1390–1460). In answer to the question, “Can a man who hears his wife cursing and saying bad things about her mother and father reprove her for this several times? If this does not work, can he then beat her in order to ensure that she does not do this any more?” He answers: “Even though Mordecai [b. Hillel] and R. Simhah wrote that he who beats his wife transgresses the negative precept “not to excess” (pen yosif, Deut. 25:3), and is dealt with very harshly, I disagree with this strict interpretation. I base my interpretation on R. Nahman [ben Jacob, d. c. 320 c.e., Babylonian Lit. (Aramaic) “spokesman.” Scholars active during the period from the completion of the Mishnah (c. 200 C.E.) until the completion of the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds (end of the fourth and fifth centuries respectively), who were active primarily in the interpretation of the Mishnah. Continua a leggere “From inside the 15th-millennium European countries we discover a whole lot more rabbis exactly who approve out of wifebeating to have the intention of education” →
