Sotah 111

9:
It seems that with the outbreak of the revolt put down by Quietus (115-117 CE) it was decided that even brides should refrain from wearing crowns on their wedding day. As far as the crowns of the women are concerned we are on firmer ground than that upon which we stood concerning the crowns of the bridegrooms. The Gemara [Sotah 49b] identifies the brides' crowns with a 'golden city'. In all probability the 'city' was Jerusalem, for we also find reference to 'a Jerusalem of gold'. These names obviously relate to a golden diadem surrounded by turrets in the shape of the walls of Jerusalem with which women used to adorn themselves. Various halakhic discussions pertaining to this crown are found in the talmudic and midrashic literature. Additionally, sources tell of the specific case of Rabbi Akiva who gave his wife such a tiara after he became wealthy.

10:
Several of the mishnayot of the sixth chapter of tractate Shabbat enumerate various articles (apparel, ornaments, and jewelry) with which it is permissible for women to go out into the public domain on Shabbat – and others with which it is not. The opening mishnah of the chapter lists, among other things, a "city of gold" as one of the objects with which a woman may not go out to the public domain. Elsewhere, in the parallel baraita in the Tosefta, Rabbi Eli'ezer demurs. The Gemara [Shabbat 59b] in reference to this mishnah elucidates: the sages view the 'city of gold' as a piece of jewelry; donning it is forbidden lest the woman remove it and show it to her friend, and thus possibly carry in the public domain. By contrast, Rabbi Eli'ezer is of the opinion that only women of rank wear a 'city of gold', and a woman of such standing will not remove it for display. It becomes clear from our present mishnah that on their wedding day brides were considered 'women of rank' and would wear such a tiara. (Weddings did not take place on Shabbat, of course.)

11:
Reference to the city of gold is found in various accounts of the stories regarding Rabbi Akiva and his wife. In the Gemara [Nedarim 50a] we read:

The Talmud [Avodah Zarah 10b, 20b, Nedarim 50a-b] relates that Rabbi Akiva eventually became wealthy from various sources. He then fulfilled his promise to his wife, and presented her with a 'Jerusalem of Gold'. When this act of his was criticized as extravagant Rabbi Akiva explained his action as a tribute to his wife who had endured so many trials so that he could study Torah. The Talmud of Eretz-Israel [Shabbat 7d, Sotah 24c] relates that the wife of Rabban Gamli'el was jealous of Rabbi Akiva's wife, and complained to her husband, who reacted by saying: "Would you have done for me what she has done for him – that she sold the braids on her head and gave him [the money] so that he could study Torah".

12:
I translated the Hebrew word "Apiryon", which appears in our mishnah, as a sedan chair. This was for the sake of clarity. Actually, the references is to the draperies which were hung from the chair or litter upon which the bride sat as she was carried amidst dancing and singing from her father's house to that of her future husband. It was this 'extravagance' the the sages outlawed as being unacceptable during a time of war and suffering.

13:
In the Gemara [Sotah 49b] it is made clear that it is not the Greek language that was outlawed but the study of Greek philosophy – or perhaps Greek culture. However, it seems that this prohibition was not uniformly enforced and exceptions were made for national leaders who would have to deal with Europeans for political and diplomatic reasons. The Gemara also suggests that the decree was originally promulgated in the 1st century BCE, when Yoĥanan Hyrkanos and Yehudah Aristobulos, the sons of Alexander Yannai and Salome Alexandra were fighting each other for control of Jerusalem. Be that as it may (and it probably was not!) it seems that by the end of the 2nd century CE the prohibition was relaxed, since we find Rabbi Yehudah ('Rabbi'), the president of the Sanhedrin, insisting that only the two languages of civilization are permitted in his household: Hebrew and Greek; and his lengthy discussions with several of the Roman nobility show that he was well-versed in Greek philosophy.

14:
This last assumption concerning Rabbi is born out by the last phrase of our mishnah: "but our rabbis have permitted a bride to go forth into town in a sedan chair". The appellation 'our rabbis' in association with the lifting of a prohibition is found in one other place in the Talmud: in Avodah Zarah 37a the appellation is specifically attached to Rabbi and his court as lifting the ban on oil received from non-Jews. Rambam, in his commentary on our present mishnah, accepts this, and there does not seem to be any cogent reason for us not to accept this as well.