Livre d'Or

Yeah, I've not studied Rabbenu Gershom's cherem either, which is probably why when you posted inviting questions I didn't stop to think before I took it as an opportunity to think and ask questions about a part of Judaism that I don't often think much about. Again, I'm sorry, it seems obvious in retrospect how intrusive and personal my questions were, and I appreciate you answering anyway. It's really generous of you.

Sometimes textual geekery jumps ahead of reason... I might analogize it to sending away the mother bird, where I've heard people talk about finding a nest and rushing to try to send away the mother in their excitement about the rare opportunity to do such a geeky mitzvah, and only afterward realizing that now they have to figure out how to cook the egg and eat it, and did they really want to eat the egg that badly to begin with, and isn't it still pretty cruel to the mother bird?