<p>The letter Kaf pushes the father's worry even further into the future:</p>

<p>"When you marry the daughter, you worry about her the most — lest she not have children. And when you are older — lest she perform magic."</p>

<p>So the anxiety doesn't stop at the wedding. According to this proverb from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical wisdom text composed between 700 and 1000 CE, marrying off your daughter actually increases the worry. First comes the fear of infertility — a devastating concern in a culture where bearing children was considered both a divine blessing and a social necessity. A childless daughter wasn't just personally heartbroken; she was vulnerable to divorce, to shame, to being treated as though God had turned away from her.</p>

<p>Then comes the stranger fear: lest she perform magic. This isn't as bizarre as it sounds in context. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 67a) discusses women and sorcery, and there was a widespread folk belief in the ancient and medieval Jewish world that older women, particularly those who were isolated or desperate, might turn to magical practices. The Mishnah (Avot 2:7) says bluntly: "The more women, the more sorcery." Ben Sira is channeling a deep cultural anxiety here — the fear that a daughter's suffering might drive her to forbidden arts.</p>

<p>The teacher, who just acknowledged in the previous exchange that Ben Sira was speaking truth, says nothing this time. He simply asks for the next letter. The pattern is telling: when the proverbs hit close to home, the educator goes quiet.</p>