Isaac Arama and His Theory of Two Matches (Zivvugim)

Abstract

The negative attitude of medieval Jewish thinkers toward women and femininity is well established.1 At the same time we may discover that some thinkers are less blatant, some opinions less offensive. This seems to be the case with Isaac Arama (1420-1492). Arama's biography may explain his moderate attitude toward women. Misogynist statements appear, as a rule, in philosophical commentaries on the Torah intended for intellectuals. Arama's Akedat Itzhac,2 by contrast, is based on sermons3 that addressed a heterogeneous congregation.4 Although we do not know which changes the sermons had underwent in his book, it is possible that as a rabbi, Arama could not ignore the wives, the mothers and the daughters who were part of his audience.5 As a rabbi he could not