We recently mentioned the perhaps somewhat doubtful assumption of רבי אברהם אבן טוואה that a girl’s heart is amenable to rational analysis, and that its dictates will be determined solely by the objective qualities of the young man in question. But as Blaise Pascal famously said: Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne […]
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Mishloah Manos Lists – A Medieval Rationalist Perspective
In recent years, Purim has engendered much communal hand-wringing and agonizing over whether the number of recipients to whom we send משלוח מנות has grown too large. אין כל חדש תחת השמש; Rav Ya’akov Anatoli explains that part of Hazal’s motivation for only requiring one act of משלוח מנות, as opposed to two of מתנות […]
The Best Bahur In Algiers
A common cliche in the context of modern Shidduchim is that of “the best בחור in Lakewood”. Here is a description by רבי אברהם אבן טוואה of the best בחור in Algiers – handsome and good-looking, and the son of a leaned, wealthy, socially prominent and philanthropic father: הצד הראשון שאין לחוש באשה זו שנתנה […]