daf bit: Pesachim 49

[cellio]

The g'mara on today's daf discusses priorities in marriage. Our rabbis taught: let a man sell all that he has and marry the daughter of a scholar. If he doesn't find the daughter of a scholar, let him marry the daughter of one of the great men of the generation (this probably means civil leaders, a note in Soncino says). If he doesn't find one of those, let him marry the daughter of the head of synagogues (a leader over all the synagogues in town). If not, let him marry the daughter of a charity treasurer. If not, let him marry the daughter of an elementary-school teacher, but let him not marry the daughter of an 'am ha-aretz (an ignorant and unobservant person) because they are detestable. (49b)

(We got here from a mishna that discusses cases where you belatedly realize, on erev Pesach, that you still have chameitz (forbidden leaven) at home but you're not there, and what to do about it. Whether you have to go back or can just annul it in your heart depends on why you're not home; attending certain wedding celebrations is one such case. And from that a broader discussion of marriage arises in the g'mara.)

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

"Daughter of a scholar," sure, but in some of today's religious circles, that means someone with a large knowledge base, but not necessarily a questing mind, hungry for more learning, which I think is a shame.

[cellio]

Yeah. Also a shame: did you notice that not one of these items concerns the qualities of the woman, only her father? I can't tell if that means the g'mara thinks the daughter of (e.g.) a scholar is inherently a good woman and wife, or if it's more about status (marrying into a scholar's family is better).

[magid.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. I think it's all of the things you mention, not necessarily separated out into categories in the rabbis' heads.