Marrying the Daughter of the Rosh Knesset
The sages taught: A person should always [be willing to] sell all he has [in order to] marry the daughter of a Torah scholar. [If] he cannot find the daughter of a Torah scholar, he should marry the daughter of [one of the] great [people] of the generation, [who are pious although they are not Torah scholars. If] he cannot find the daughter of [one of the] great [people] of the generation, he should marry the daughter of [one of] the heads of the congregations [rashei knessiyot—Ed.]. [If] he cannot find the daughter of [one of] the heads of the congregations, he should marry the daughter of [one of] the charity collectors. [If] he cannot find the daughter of [one of] the charity collectors, he should marry the daughter of [one of] the schoolteachers. [However,] he should not marry the daughter of an ignoramus [am ha-’arets].
Notes
Words in brackets appear in the original translation unless otherwise noted.
Credits
From Koren Talmud Bavli, Noé Edition, trans. Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019). Accessed via the William Davidson digital edition, sefaria.org. Adapted with permission of Koren Publishers Ltd.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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Rosh Knesset, “head of the synagogue,” is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek term archisynagōgos, a title associated with important administrative, socioreligious, and liturgical functions in the ancient synagogue. The social hierarchy of men whose daughters are desirable to marry outlined in this passage is seemingly based on the women’s knowledge of and ability to observe the commandments. It is considered desirable to marry a daughter of a leader of a synagogue. See also The Rosh Knesset in the Torah Service.
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Leadership of the Early Synagogue
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