Q&A: John Nash and Commanded-and-Acts
John Nash and Commanded-and-Acts
Question
A. In the film A Beautiful Mind, besides the redheaded character he talks with, there is also a character of an imaginary girl. Over time he realizes that she never grows up, and that is how he understands that she does not exist.
B. Do girls at age 12 become commanded and obligated to perform commandments? הרי there is an exemption for women from time-bound commandments, so what does a woman mean when she recites the blessing, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments”?
Answer
A. I understand that you mean to say that he had objective indications that he was mistaken? I do not know what happened with Nash in reality.
B. I did not understand the question. Do you mean that because until age 12 there is no obligation, then all commandments are considered time-bound? Clearly that is not correct, because women are in fact obligated in commandments that are not time-bound. But this is not only a special scriptural decree. A commandment that begins at a certain age and from then on continues onward (like circumcision, for example), according to some medieval authorities (Rishonim), is not considered time-bound. And in general, all the commandments began at the revelation at Mount Sinai, so they are all caused by historical time.
A. In the Jewish-law thought class you spoke about the possibility of navigating intellectually toward factual truth even when the senses and emotions point the other way. You gave John Nash as an example. You said you did not remember how he reached the conclusion that he was hallucinating.
The issue with the age of the imaginary girl is the turning point in the plot.
B. If a woman performs a time-bound commandment and recites the blessing “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,” is she commanded but exempt, or is she not commanded? Is that a valid blessing?