English translation — תצא

You shall go out

(Tishrei-Shevat-Nissan-Av)

[pg]30[/pg]

A.

The Rambam wrote at the beginning of the Laws of Marriage: "Before the giving of the Torah, a man would meet a woman in the market; if he and she desired to marry her, he would bring her into his house and cohabit with her in private, and she would be his wife.

Once the Torah was given, Israel was commanded that if a man wishes to marry a woman, he must first acquire her in front of witnesses, and only afterward she will be his wife, as it is said¹

When a man takes a woman and comes to her'".

And he continues with the laws of after this²

that "these acquisitions are a positive commandment etc. they are called betrothal or engagement everywhere etc. And since the woman is acquired and becomes betrothed, even though she was not cohabited with and did not enter her husband's house, she is a married woman etc. And if he wishes to divorce, she requires a get."

And at first glance it requires examination,

why did the Rambam here precede the description of the definition of marriage that was before the giving of the Torah,

and did not begin with the law of marriage after the giving of the Torah: "If a man wishes to marry a woman, he must first acquire her etc. and afterwards she will be his wife etc."³?

And behold, simply,

the practical halachic difference in this time is regarding a son of Noah,

and as the Maggid Mishneh writes here "This is simple and explained in many places that for a non-Jew, with mere designation<sup>4</sup>

she is his wife, and since he had relations with her for the sake of marriage, she becomes a married woman, and another non-Jew is liable for her as mentioned in chapter 9<sup>5</sup>

of the Laws of Kings and their Wars".

But at first glance, this is no reason to bring this matter at the beginning of the Laws of Marriage,

in which only the law of marriage of Israel is discussed,

and he should have brought it in the Laws of Kings<sup>6</sup>,

where the laws of the sons of Noah are explained.

And as in the laws of divorce,

at the beginning of the laws of divorce the Rambam writes only the law of divorce of a Jew

(without prefacing the manner of divorce before the giving of the Torah)

— "A woman is not divorced except by a writ that reaches her, and this writ is called a get..

this⁷

that is stated in the Torah⁸

and he sent her from his house — its meaning is not that her divorce is not completed until she leaves his house, but rather when a get reaches her hand her divorce is completed, even though she is still in his house"; and only in the Laws of Kings⁹

he explains the law of divorce of a ben Noach — "When is another's wife considered like our divorcee? When he takes her out of his house and sends her away on her own, or<pg>31</pg>

when she goes out from under his authority and goes away, for they have no divorce by writ".

And it should say,

that this introduction regarding the matter of marriage before the Giving of the Torah pertains to the law of marriage of Israel

(after the Giving of the Torah).

2.

At first glance it could be explained this way based on what was stated elsewhere¹⁰,

that before the Giving of the Torah there did not apply any concept of these "betrothals" of after the Giving of the Torah.

For the concept of "a married woman"

(simply)

is not that the woman is acquired to the husband as an object acquired to a person,

but rather that this woman and this man are like one reality that is made through a pair,

similar to the expression of the verse¹¹

"and cleaves to his wife."

Therefore,

were it not for the Torah's command that a man "acquire her first..

and afterward she will be to him as a wife",

there is no place to say that there are "betrothals" that have the power to effect that the name "married woman" applies to the woman when she is still not "his wife" in the simple sense,

for "she was not cohabited and

(even)

did not enter her husband's house",

and only the Torah's command creates a reality of "betrothals" that makes the woman a married woman.

And it can be said that there is a practical difference also in this time regarding a Ben Noach,

that a Ben Noach who acquires a wife through one of the methods of acquisition for the sake of betrothal etc. — nothing is effected by this act and she is still single exactly as before the act of acquisition¹².

And as the words of the Rambam in Laws of Kings¹³

that "a Ben Noach is not liable for the wife of his fellow until etc. after she has been had by her husband,

but an betrothed woman or one who entered the chuppah but was not had — they are not liable for her"¹⁴.

And based on this it can be said,

that for this reason the Rambam preceded the law of marriage that was before the giving of the Torah,

in order to emphasize more the novelty in the definition of betrothal after the giving of the Torah,

and as we see,

that before the giving of the Torah the only way to create a definition of marriage was only by living together as husband and wife — "he brings her into his house and has her etc."

But this explanation is insufficient,

because in this matter there is seemingly no practical difference in halacha regarding the marriage of a Jew.

Furthermore: What is different about kiddushin from divorce,

that there the Rambam did not precede the definition of divorce from before the giving of the Torah,

even though the above distinctions between a Jew and a Ben Noach in the law of kiddushin and divorce are interdependent.

For since the matter of marriage regarding a Ben Noach is created by bringing her into his house etc.

(i.e., actual marital life),

so too her sending away

(or her leaving)

from his house is what effects the divorce,

unlike by a Jew, where marriage is created through acquisition and "betrothal",

and therefore the nullification of this acquisition is specifically through a document.

And if so, just as the Rambam preceded the law of marriage from before the giving of the Torah in order to emphasize the novelty of betrothal in the giving of the Torah,

so too should he have preceded the law of divorce from before the giving of the Torah,

&lt;pg&gt;32&lt;/pg&gt;

In order to emphasize the novelty in the law of divorce after the giving of the Torah

(that she is divorced by means of a "document",

even when she is still in her husband's house).

3.

And this will be understood by first prefacing another precision in the Rambam here:

In the definition of marriage for Israel there are two stages — betrothal which is the acquisition and taking

(by means of money, document, or intercourse)

and marriage

(by means of entering the wedding canopy).

And even though also by betrothal alone the name "married woman" already applies to the woman,

nevertheless,

many obligations

(also of Torah law)

apply only through marriage&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;,

for then they are husband and wife for all matters.

And based on this, it is puzzling,

that at the beginning of the Laws of Marriage the Rambam explains only the matter of betrothal

(betrothal)

while the law of marriage he did not mention until chapter 10,

where only there&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

he explains that when "he brings her into his house and secludes himself with her and designates her for himself

(and)

this seclusion is called entering the wedding canopy and it is called marriage in every place..

And she is his wife for all matters."

And ostensibly, he should have explained the term "marriage" immediately at the beginning of the Laws of Marriage,

together with the explanation of the term betrothal and betrothal.

And on the contrary: betrothal "is

(only)

the beginning of the commandment of marriage..

Betrothal without marriage certainly has not yet completed the commandment"¹⁷

(And according to the precise wording of the Rambam in the heading to the Laws of Marriage,

that the commandment is "to marry a woman with a marriage contract and betrothal",

behold that the commandment is marriage¹⁸),

And if so, it is most perplexing that he did not explain the matter of marriage immediately at the beginning of the Laws of Marriage.

And even more it is not understood,

that in the two first chapters of the Laws of Marriage the Rambam explained twenty names that belong to these laws,

and at the end of chapter two he enumerates all twenty names,

beginning with the name "betrothal"

(and concludes "place all these names before you always etc. so that we will not need to explain each name from them in every place that we mention it")

— whereas the name "marriage" he did not mention at all.

4.

And it seems to me,

that the Rambam holds,

that the essential innovation of the Torah in the matter of marriage of Israel is only in the category of betrothal,

and as above that all this category of acquisition was innovated by the command of the Torah,

but in the matter of marriage,

the essence and category of marriage was not changed from how it was before the Giving of the Torah.

For the matter of marriage itself is the reality of married life,

in the language of the Rambam "brings her into his house etc. and she will be to him for a wife",

and in this there is no change

(essential)

between before the Giving of the Torah and after the Giving of the Torah.

And this is what the Rambam precisely expressed in his language "since the Torah was given, Israel were commanded that if a man wants to marry a woman he should acquire her first etc. and afterwards she will be to him for a wife",

and he goes on to detail the matter of "acquisition" and not the matter of "to marry her"

(marriage),

for the innovation of the Torah is not in the matter of "to marry a woman"

("she will be to him for a wife")

itself,

for this matter remained as it was before the Giving of the Torah,

but only in the acquisition that precedes marriage,

"he should acquire her first

(and afterwards she will be to him for a wife)

".

And this itself is the reason that the Rambam prefaced&lt;pg&gt;33&lt;/pg&gt;

Regarding the order of the matter of marriage "before the giving of the Torah",

that this is not

(only)

an introduction to understand the innovation in kiddushin of Israel,

but rather to explain the term marriage

(also now after the giving of the Torah),

that this is the essence of the matter of marriage.

And it is found,

that not only did the Rambam not omit here the explanation of the term marriage,

but on the contrary,

this is the beginning of the laws of marriage

[except that he explains how it was "before the giving of the Torah",

since this was not changed after the giving of the Torah]

— and only afterwards he explains twenty specific names that are related to the matter of marriage

(starting from the name "kiddushin").

And based on this, the difference between marriage and divorce is understood,

that here the Rambam preceded the law of marriage before the giving of the Torah, unlike regarding divorce,

because regarding marriage,

the definition of marriage before the giving of the Torah remained also after the giving of the Torah regarding the matter of matrimony

(and the innovation of the giving of the Torah is in the betrothal that comes before matrimony)

; whereas regarding divorce,

the departure

(and sending away)

from the husband's house as it is for a son of Noah,

does not avail at all for Israel.

5.

And it may be said,

that this matter

(that the definition of matrimony did not change after the giving of the Torah)

pertains to halachah — for this is the foundation of the Rambam's view regarding the definition of chuppah

(which is what effects matrimony),

that we find several views&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

what is entry into chuppah,

and the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

ruled that entry into chuppah is "yichud",

"that he bring her into his house and seclude himself with her and set her apart for him" — and this is very close to the description of marriage before the giving of the Torah,

that "he brings her into his house and cohabits with her etc."

And this is because the Rambam holds that the matter of matrimony after the giving of the Torah is the very same matter of matrimony before the giving of the Torah,

namely the act of marital life,

and therefore in order that the name "married" apply to the woman, this is equivalent to the way of matrimony before the giving of the Torah.

And although there is a difference between marriage before the giving of the Torah and marriage after the giving of the Torah,

that before the giving of the Torah

(and likewise for a son of Noah after the giving of the Torah)

there must be actual marital life

("he cohabits with her etc.'"),

whereas for Israel mere seclusion suffices to make her a married woman,

and as the Rambam wrote&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

that "from when she enters the wedding canopy she is called a married woman even though she has not been cohabited with" — behold, in addition to this, also the matter of seclusion

(for the sake of marriage)

itself is like an act of marital relations&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

[And in particular that the Rambam is precise that mere seclusion is not sufficient, but it must be in a manner of "he sets her apart for himself",

and as explained in the poskim&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

that is, it must be in a manner of permanence,

and not that he brings her into his house in a temporary manner etc.'],

behold, the Rambam wrote&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

that this seclusion must be "fit for cohabitation,

but if she was a menstruant, even though she entered the wedding canopy and he secluded himself with her, the marriage is not completed and she is still like an arusah."

And based on the above, the reason is understood simply,

for this is the entire definition of the matter of marriage,

the bringing into his house and living together as husband and wife,

and therefore there must be seclusion fit for marital life.

6.

Based on the above, it is possible to explain, in the manner of homiletics, the connection and relationship between the beginning of the Order of Women and the end of the Order of Seasons that precedes it.

And with an introduction,

that according to the known great precision in the order of the topics in the book of the Rambam,

it is reasonable to say,

that there is a topical connection between the fourteen books of the Rambam,

that the beginning of each book is a continuation of the conclusion of the previous book²⁴.

<pg>34</pg>

And in our matter — the Book of Seasons and the Book of Women — the connection between them is revealed and explicit: the last halacha of the Book of Seasons is "If one had before him his house lamp and Chanukah lamp etc., his house lamp takes precedence because of peace in his house,

for the Name is erased to make peace between a man and his wife,

great is peace that the entire Torah was given to make peace in the world, as it is said²⁵

Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."

And this is the content of the entire Book of Women,

the matter of "the peace between a man and his wife."

And one may add further,

that at the beginning of the book of Women it is emphasized not only the matter of "peace between a man and his wife",

but also the detail that the matter of peace is effected by means of

(the giving of)

Torah,

as the very conclusion of the book of Seasons "that the entire Torah was given to make peace in the world".

For,

in the first laws of the book of Women the Rambam emphasizes

(as above)

the innovation that was innovated by the giving of the Torah²⁶

regarding the matter of marital relations,

"Before the giving of the Torah, a person would meet a woman in the market etc. Once the Torah was given, Israel were commanded that if a man wishes to marry a woman, he should acquire her first etc. and afterwards she shall be his wife."

And it is understood simply,

that this order, that an acquisition is required before she is his wife,

indicates the strength of the bond and permanence between them.

For before the giving of the Torah, immediately and at once when he and she wanted, "he would bring her into his house etc.",

and it is understood that there is no strong bond here,

and just as he brought her in, so could he send her away from his house immediately and at once when he wished²⁷,

like the expression "a son of a night he was and a son of a night he perished"²⁸

; but after the giving of the Torah,

since he does not bring her into his house immediately and at once when he meets her,

but only after the preamble that "he should acquire her first etc.",

it is understood,

that this has a greater endurance and validity.

To the extent that he cannot send her away immediately and at once when he wishes,

but rather "if he wishes to divorce, a get is required"²⁹.

[And based on this, the reason is also understood that afterwards&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

the Rambam continues with another law that was innovated at the giving of the Torah — "Before the giving of the Torah, a person would meet a woman in the market etc. and this is the one called a prostitute,

once the Torah was given, the prostitute was forbidden etc.",

that also the content of this law is to increase peace,

as the Rambam explained in the Guide for the Perplexed&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

regarding the reason for the prohibition of prostitution,

that "the benefits..

prevention of quarrels..

if prostitution were permitted..

they would not escape from strife and most of the time they would kill each other or they would kill her etc."].

7.

And it can be said,

that also what was said above regarding the intention of the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Ishut,

that the innovation of the Torah is primarily in the matter of kiddushin,

whereas the matter of marriage is like the matter of marital relations before the giving of the Torah,

has a connection to the words of the Rambam at the end of Sefer Zemanim.

And this will be understood by prefacing the precise wording of the Rambam "the Torah was given to make peace in the world",

and behold the Torah was given to Israel specifically,

"an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob"³²,

and if so it should have said "to make peace in Israel"

(and the like),

and what is its saying "to make peace in the world"?

<pg>35</pg>

At first glance it would be possible to explain this based on the words of the Rambam³³,

that "Moses our teacher commanded from the mouth of the Almighty to compel all inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that were commanded to the children of Noah",

and likewise,

that a son of Noah who accepted upon himself the seven commandments and is careful to perform them is not among the pious of the nations of the world unless he performs them "because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah"³⁴,

and if so the action of the Torah is also regarding a son of Noah,

that through the observance of the seven commandments of the sons of Noah peace is made among them.

[And based on this, we can also explain the double language in the verse "Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace": the difference between "way" and "path" is,

that a way is a wide and large road,

whereas a path is a narrow and small trail&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;.

And in our matter — "way" refers to the 613 commandments of the Torah which were given specifically to Israel,

that this is the large and primary part of the Torah,

whereas "her paths" refers to the seven commandments of the Noahides,

which are only the smallest part etc.

And this is the reason that regarding "her ways" it specifies "pleasantness" specifically,

and regarding "her paths" it says "peace": the effect of the Torah upon the Noahides is the essential quality of peace,

but not so regarding the Children of Israel,

that "every Jewish person etc. like one person friends"&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;,

"all Israel are brothers"&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;,

there is the matter of peace from the very nature of their soul,

and the effect of the Torah is to add in peace itself,

that there should also be the matter of "pleasantness"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;].

But this is not a sufficient explanation,

because from the wording of the Rambam "the entire Torah was given to make peace in the world",

it is proven,

that what is said "peace in the world" does not intend the effect of the seven Noachide commandments for the children of Noah,

but rather the effect of the 613 commandments of Israel.

And one can say the explanation in this: in the effect of the Torah and commandments there are two types: conduct in matters of holiness that belong solely to the children of Israel and from the outset are not matters of the "world"; and matters that in general have their counterpart also among the nations of the world,

except that in them themselves a fundamental change was made through the giving of the Torah,

in a manner that the Torah makes "peace in the world",

that in the matters and ways of the world the matter of peace is added³⁹.

And this is what the Rambam wrote,

that the main intention of giving the Torah below,

is not

(so much)

for the sake of the action of Torah and mitzvos, what it effects elevation among Bnei Yisrael and lifts them above the world,

but rather, on the contrary,

that through it a renewal and addition of "peace" is effected in the matters of the world itself

("peace in the world").

And this matter is emphasized in the matter of "peace between a man and his wife",

that this is what the Rambam brings at the beginning of Hilchos Ishus,

regarding the definition of marriage before the giving of the Torah,

that even then there was a definition of marriage,

that there is a way to create the matter of marriage,

"and she shall be to him a wife",

that this itself is a matter of "peace",

but in this itself the Torah effects "peace in the world",

that there is added in the matter&lt;pg&gt;36&lt;/pg&gt;

The "peace",

in a manner that there is in it

(in addition to "peace")

also the matter of "pleasantness",

by that before the marriage one must acquire the woman first "and afterwards she will be to him for a wife".

8.

And it is to explain the above matter in the category of betrothal and marriage according to the inwardness of the matters:

It is known that a man and a woman,

groom and bride,

are a parable for the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel,

that the connection of Israel to their Father in heaven is compared to betrothal and marriage.

And the difference between them is: Betrothal which is "Kiddushin" — from the term "prohibited to all the world like consecrated property"⁴⁰

— indicates the drawing down of a supernal holiness upon the person,

which is above and beyond the boundaries of the world,

therefore it is in separation from the world — holiness from the term separation⁴¹

— which effects in the person abstinence and separation from the world

(prohibition,

negation)⁴²

; but the matter of marriage is,

when this holiness is drawn into the person internally,

until the person,

even as he is within the limitations of the body and the world,

becomes a vessel for this holiness.

And this is that the matter of marriage in itself

(i.e., the union and the drawing down internally)

is not the main innovation of the Giving of the Torah,

for the movement of drawing down the light of holiness internally exists also before the Giving of the Torah

(i.e., in the limited Divine light,

which is according to the measure of the worlds)

; and the main innovation of the Torah is in the matter of Kiddushin,

which is the drawing down of holiness that is above the boundaries of the world,

which is not within the power of a person from himself but only through the power of the Torah;

But after a person is given the power to draw down this holiness,

the marriage that comes afterward,

in which this supernal holiness is drawn down internally,

they are automatically in a completely different manner,

in a manner of permanence and strong connection

(as above),

because the drawing down internally is from this holiness that is above the limits of the world⁴³.

And on the contrary: the ultimate intention is not in the matter of kiddushin

(where the light remains in a state of separation and encompassing),

but specifically in the matter of marriage,

as the language of the Rambam: "the entire Torah was given to make peace in the world",

which is the drawing down of holiness specifically into the world,

that this matter will be revealed in the future to come,

and as our Rabbis of blessed memory said⁴⁴

that at the time of the Giving of the Torah there was only the matter of betrothal,

and the matter of marriage between the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel will be in the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach,

may he come and redeem us and lead us upright to our land,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Tisa 5749)