by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 31, 2016
In the previous lecture we saw how the institution of marriage in the Torah seems to be based on a concept of ownership, and that this is paralleled by the way in which the marriage is effectuate – the giving of a mohar or bride-price from the groom to the father of the bride. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on February 19, 2010
There is a debate in the gemara (Ketuvot 10a) whether the ketuvah is mi’di’orraita, Biblical, or mi’di’rabanan, rabbinic. The position that ketuvah is Biblically-based is an individual one, that of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and he even states this position somewhat tentatively – mikan samkhu li’ktuvat isha min haTorah, from here the Rabbis found support to the institution of the ketuvah from the Torah.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 15, 2010
Birkhat eirusin, the blessing made prior to the giving of the ring, is directly tied to how we define the religious significance of the institution of marriage. Regarding the brakha itself, the Talmud (Ketuvot 7b) records the text of the brakha and a debate as to whether we close it with a final brakha (which is our practice).…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 6, 2009
The topics of hirhurim and tzniut, of illicit sexual thoughts and modesty, have deep implication. The Gemara (e.g., Avoda Zara 20b, Berakhot 24a) focuses on the man’s sexual thoughts as potentially resulting from seeing or looking lustfully at women, but does not address the issue of women’s sexual thoughts.…