a. It is possible to permit a wedding after the beginning of the Sabbath since it was a time of emergency, because“the maiden would have been put to shame if she had to wait for the wedding until the end of the Shabbat after she had already immersed herself.” In this difficult situation Isserles relied on Rabbenu Tam who stated that the Rabbinic sages permitted one to betroth a woman on the Shabbat when it was a matter of great distress." Isserles interpreted his ruling to mean:
"It is clear that, in a great emergency, we may permit such a marriage. There can be no greater emergency that this case in which a grown orphan girl was being put to shame. It would be a lifelong disgrace for her, enough to set her apart from all other girls."
b. His action was also justified by the principle of human dignity:
"Great indeed is the commandment to be considerate of the honor due human beings. It sets aside the negative commandment...in this case it is only a rabbinic prohibition...besides our concern that the match might be broken and there might be no marriage at all as a result of quarreling between the families.’ Great is the value of peace between man and wife!*"'°
Isserles shows that these two principles provide the moral infrastructure for a Talmudic pesaq(ruling) dealing with many halakhic questions. His concern for the unfortunate bride led him to officiate at her wedding in spite of halakhic prohibitions and the opposition of the elders of the Kracow Jewish community. His halakhic decision was a matter of conscience, as indicated by the conclusion of his responsum:
"The truth is that the need of the hour leads us to be lenient in such matters which are only an additional prohibition of the
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