A minor girl can be married off by her mother or brothers. Today's daf establishes the rabbis' opinions regarding her right to refuse that marriage. Her refusal can be to anyone, anywhere, any time - even after the marriage has been consummated. It is fascinating that the act of sexual intercourse, usually used to finalize the act of acquisition, is utterly meaningless in this one situation. It is as if she were never married at all - she is able to go back to her family and partake of teruma if she was a priestess marrying an Israelite, for example.
I am not clear why the rabbis are so lenient with regard to the wishes of a minor girl. Perhaps they were discouraging mothers and brothers from marrying off these girls. Or perhaps there was something else guiding the rabbis that I have not understood from the text.
If a minor girl refuses her husband, there are potential implications. For example, what if she also divorces him? Does she then follow the halachot of divorce or the halachot of refusal, which teach opposite lessons regarding whether or not she could remarry that husband? What if she refuses her husband and then is betrothed again? What if she refuses again - and what if this happens multiple times? If her first husband dies before they have children and she becomes a yevama, is she required to perform chalitza after she refuses her deceased husband? And what are the rules regarding interfamilial relationships after a refusal? Which halachot are primary?
While the rabbis sort out these issues, I find it more interesting that they are inordinately concerned - comparatively speaking - with the will of a young girl. When other women are raped, married off by their fathers, entering yibum, or otherwise upset with their lot, there if very little mention of their preferred choice of husband. Perhaps I will learn more about this unusual consideration in dapim to come.
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