Q&A: The Robber Who Won a Nobel Prize
The Robber Who Won a Nobel Prize
Question
Two unrelated questions.
1) Reuven stole a ring from Shimon. Shimon went to a religious court to claim the ring back, but since he had no proof that the ring was his, he was politely brushed off (the rule of “the burden of proof rests on the claimant,” possession creates a presumption of ownership, etc.).
Reuven, having received official validation that the ring was “his,” went and betrothed Dina with it, mazal tov. Shimon, who also loved Dina, went and convinced her that since the ring Reuven gave her was stolen, she was in any case not married, and therefore she could marry him. And indeed that is what happened, and Shimon and Dina have lived happily ever after.
My question is: are their children mamzerim?
2) I saw a video of Jordan Peterson saying that studies showed that Ashkenazi Jews (he emphasizes that) have IQs 15 points above average. I told a friend that maybe that is why Jewish Nobel Prize winners are mainly Ashkenazim. He told me that you once brought data showing that most winners were actually Mizrahim. I searched here on the site and on the internet and couldn’t find it.
Is that true, and where did you get the data?
Answer
1. I just now wrote a column on the question of whether someone who prevailed by force of “the burden of proof rests on the claimant” can betroth a woman with that money. The discussion is in Kuntras. It seems to me that there they asked me about a swindler, and I said that for a swindler, according to all opinions, the money is not his. Therefore Shimon acted lawfully. But Leah may not rely on him against the ruling of the religious court unless it is in the direction of stringency (by the rule of self-imposed prohibition).
2. Indeed. You need to search here on the site. I also brought a link.
Discussion on Answer
Thanks.
You wrote that you recently published a column on the matter.
Which column?
The Sons of Gad?
(Amos Oz doesn’t count…)
On the contrary, studying the sources you brought and the criticism of them
teaches that the Judaism that came from Morocco is nothing much…
I’m surprised at the Rabbi, who doesn’t know how to read the articles and the critiques.
And to calculate what is actually written here…
Column 637.
This specific case is a bit different. Since he convinced Dina that the ring was his, this would be a mistaken betrothal (she thought the ring belonged to Reuven).
This is not a mistaken betrothal, because the ring is indeed his on the legal-public level. Beyond that, a mistake applies only to the transaction itself (who the husband is and what his characteristics are). The issue of the ring is not connected to mistakes in the transaction.
See here: https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%94/
and also in Column 206.