Questions tagged [marriage]

marriage, marrying, the state of being married; more specific tags are `wedding` and `intermarriage`

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
39 votes
3 answers
12k views

Questions about Polygamy in Jewish Law and Culture

I've recently been studying polygamy (having more than 1 wife), and had a few cultural questions. Was polygamy accepted at the time of David and Solomon? Were there any laws about it? Was polygamy ...
stringo0's user avatar
  • 551
10 votes
2 answers
5k views

Does Judaism permit sexual relationships outside of marriage?

I am eager to know more about different religions from Islam to Judaism. Furthermore, how different religions look at women and comparing their kinds of approaches to the matter of gender and ...
Persian Cat's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
4k views

Prohibition of a Kohen marrying a Zonah

In the prohibition of a Kohen marrying a Zonah (cf. Vayikra 21:7), what defines a woman as a Zonah? Is it just having had relations with a non-Jew, or does it also include having relations out of ...
Binyomin Trager's user avatar
16 votes
7 answers
5k views

40 Days Before Conception

It is written somewhere (I don't remember exactly where) that 40 days before conception, it is called out in Heaven who that person will marry. However, if the person gets married multiple times how ...
yydl's user avatar
  • 38.6k
73 votes
5 answers
9k views

What is the halachic source for objection to gay (civil) marriage?

New York State is considering legalizing gay (civil) marriages, so tonight on our answering machine we received a message urging us to pray that it doesn't pass because gay civil marriages were, you ...
Joel Spolsky's user avatar
  • 1,398
31 votes
5 answers
10k views

Taking a concubine (pilegesh) today

Moderator's note: As with all discussions of Jewish law on this site, any information included in this question or its answers is presented only for the purpose of understanding the relevant ideas, ...
user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is it acceptable under Judaism to never marry? [duplicate]

Is it acceptable for Jews or those who live a Jewish lifestyle to become bachelors? I know of the New Testament verses that inspire my view but am wondering if Jews are commanded to marry and have ...
Neil Meyer's user avatar
20 votes
11 answers
1k views

Yaakov Marrying Two Sisters [duplicate]

According to those that say the Avos kept the Torah beforehand (here), how was Yaakov allowed to marry two sisters? (Yes, I'm aware that there are many answers)
yydl's user avatar
  • 38.6k
19 votes
2 answers
13k views

Apologetics for marriage at 3 years old

Are there contemporary apologetics for the Mishnah (Niddah 44b) that a girl of the age of 3 can be married by sexual relations? (It seems difficult to accept that such a thing is even allowed in ...
Curiouser's user avatar
  • 7,901
13 votes
3 answers
3k views

Can a Kohen Marry a Woman with a Non-Jewish Father?

Is a Kohen allowed to marry a woman who is the daughter of a Jewish woman and non-Jewish man?
cookie monster's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

Aside from the days set aside for impurity, what exactly is a man allowed to do with his wife in regards to intimacy? [closed]

A man cannot touch, stare, kiss or have relations with a woman he is not married with. On the days when the laws of impurity do not apply, what exactly can a man do with his wife? Assuming extra ...
Ani Yodea's user avatar
  • 13.2k
17 votes
4 answers
3k views

Would a baalat teshuva need a get from each previous sexual relationship?

Would a baalat teshuva need a get from each previous sexual relationship? In light of the idea that marriage can be contracted solely through bi'ah/public knowledge of the couple's relationship (as ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
16 votes
3 answers
2k views

Talis Gadol for Unmarried Individuals

In my minhag (and I believe it's minhag Ashkenaz), unmarried men do not wear a Talis Gadol (only a Talis Katan). Why is this so?
yydl's user avatar
  • 38.6k
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

If a Jewish couple is married through a civil ceremony alone, do Jewish marriage laws apply to them thereafter?

If a Jewish couple is married through a civil ceremony alone, do Jewish marriage laws apply to them thereafter? Assume no ketubah; perhaps a ring, but not necessarily 2 witnesses. Could one say that ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Saying loshon hara to a spouse or close relative

Are there any relationships within which loshon hara is permitted? I guess I mean loshon hara that is said for a purpose--but perhaps not purposes which would meet the strict halachic criteria for ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
22 votes
2 answers
3k views

What happens to the family of a Kohen today if his wife is a victim of rape?

What happens to the family of a Kohen today if his wife is a victim of rape? What are the steps taken and how does this come to be resolved according to halachah and in the most constructive way for ...
seekingclarity's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

Do married men stop saying a bracha on their *tallit katan*?

This question concerns the Ashkenazic practice. I was always told that the tallit katan (worn under clothing, every day, starting in preschool years) got the bracha of al mitzvat tzitzit, but the ...
Shalom's user avatar
  • 133k
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

Can the child of two converts marry a Cohen?

Can the child of two converts marry a Cohen? How does the situation differ if only the mother, or only the father, is a convert? (I have read that "ideally" the child of two converts should not ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
12 votes
1 answer
1k views

Married woman covering hair

Is it strictly necessary for a married woman to keep her hair covered in the following situations? If not, how important is it? 1) When alone in the house 2) When alone (or with husband) in the ...
Dave's user avatar
  • 21.1k
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

How old were Er and Onan when they died?

Based on the implication that Yehuda got married after Yosef was sold, and that it was 22 years later that Yaacov and the family come down to Egypt, during that time Yehuda has his 3 children by the ...
Mord Yisroel's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
991 views

When can a wife use the money she owns or earns without her husband's permission?

Normally, the money that comes to a woman before and during her marriage, she uses to buy land which belongs to her, but the husband has the rights to eat (own) their fruits (dividends​), this is ...
hazoriz's user avatar
  • 7,526
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Mamzer from non-Jew

If a Jewess married to a Jew has a child from a non-Jew is that child a mamzer? Is there agreement amongst the poskim about this?
Michael Sandler's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
596 views

Are cholim obligated to please their wives?

To me it is clear that if (G-d forbid) a person is sick to the point that it will kill them, or that (G-d forbid) they will get their wife sick, there's obviously no obligation to please their wife (...
Charles Koppelman's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
587 views

Motivation for Disallowing Conversions

What was the motivation of the Syrian community's rabbis for disallowing conversions and when did it happen? Did any other Sephardi communities join in this decision later on?
SimchasTorah's user avatar
  • 33.2k
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the prohibition of intermarriage?

The Gemara says that there's no kiddushin between a Jew and a non-Jew (the marriage is not effective), yet the only way to violate the prohibition of intermarriage is through marriage (at least for ...
wowow's user avatar
  • 31
17 votes
1 answer
672 views

How does the kohein gadol's substitute wife work?

The first mishna of Yoma1 explains that before Yom Kippur, a substitute wife is prepared for the kohein gadol lest his wife die -- because the torah says he makes atonement for himself and "his house",...
Monica Cellio's user avatar
15 votes
4 answers
1k views

Marital Prenups

In 1993 Rabbi Mordechai Willig, a Rosh Yeshiva at YU and a member of the Beth Din of America, drafted a prenup for use at Jewish weddings to avoid future Aguna/Mesorevet Get problems. The agreement ...
Double AA's user avatar
  • 99k
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

Non-Jew's marriage obligation

Does a non-Jew have an obligation to get married like the Jew does?
my rebbi's talmid's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
2k views

May one propose with an engagement ring?

Are there any Halachic issues with giving a girl a ring while asking her to marry him? Are there any sources that discuss the sha'alah of safek Kiddushin, etc?
user5303's user avatar
  • 1,474
11 votes
1 answer
427 views

(How) was Tu B'Av observed as a matchmaking/singles-meeting event through history?

I know the Talmud describes how the fifteenth day of the month of Av (Tu b'Av) was a day of ... I'd say "matchmaking", but I think "marriage-minded-singles-meeting" is more like it: אמר רבן שמעון ...
Shalom's user avatar
  • 133k
10 votes
1 answer
3k views

Husband lighting Shabbat candles

If my wife is out of the country for an extended trip, am I required to light Shabbat candles in the house if I am home alone? Does it matter how long she is going to be away? Or that the time ...
Ken's user avatar
  • 3,794
7 votes
6 answers
2k views

Did Moses marry twice?

Did Moses marry a second time? Maybe his first wife died or maybe we don't know for sure? I am wondering if the wife that Miriam and Aaron complained about in parshas Beha'alosecha (Bamidbar 12:1) ...
Shona's user avatar
  • 227
7 votes
2 answers
3k views

Halachic permissibility of a vasectomy

What are the halachic concerns surrounding vasectomies? Are vasectomies permitted by halacha under any circumstances? The issues that I could see as possibly being connected would be chavala (...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Children of Converts and Specific halachos

The Pri Megadim in OC Siman 156 Ashel Avraham Sif-Katan 2 writes that a child that was conceived in kedusha (sanctity) and born in kedusha to a mother and father that had both converted (i.e. these 2 ...
Yehoshua's user avatar
  • 16k
6 votes
4 answers
3k views

Are non-Orthodox marriages recognized by Orthodox rabbis?

Let's suppose a couple was married by a Reform rabbi in a standard reform ceremony (with egalitarian ketubah, and many other modifications to traditional kiddushin). If the couple later become baalei ...
user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
16k views

Is a Kohen required to marry a virgin?

In a recent conversation with several friends regarding ba'alei teshuva marrying Kohanim (specifically college students), one person present said that a Kohen can only marry a virgin. I contested this ...
Zvi's user avatar
  • 916
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

In adultery, why is a wife is guilty, and a husband not?

Why is a wife who engages in extramarital relations guilty of adultery, while a husband who does the same is not?
Patelo ACohen's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
490 views

Correct procedures for Shidduchim [closed]

What are the correct Jewish procedures for finding someone to marry? Like does "dating" have any Jewish connection?
yydl's user avatar
  • 38.6k
50 votes
8 answers
5k views

What is the point of having a rapist marry the woman he raped?

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 (JPS) 28  If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 then the man that lay with ...
El'endia Starman's user avatar
24 votes
2 answers
5k views

May my wife wear my jacket to keep warm?

The Sefer HaChinuch #564 writes that it’s forbidden for a woman to wear men’s clothing. If it’s cold outside, is a woman allowed to wear a man’s coat to keep warm? If #1 is a problem, are any ...
Gavriel's user avatar
  • 9,688
22 votes
4 answers
844 views

If a woman had more than one husband, to which would she be united at the Resurrection?

Ezra Stiles was a Congregationalist minister in Newport, Rhode Island in the late 18th century. He was a frequent visitor to the Newport Synagogue and there met Rabbi Raphael Hayyim Issac Carregal, a ...
Bruce James's user avatar
21 votes
5 answers
2k views

Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom text

Does anyone know where I can find the actual text of the Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom? It keeps popping up in my learning, but only as being referenced, I would like to read that actual text.
Rabbi Michael Tzadok's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
4k views

Can you see your wife unclothed?

I think someone in another question here (or on another site?) said he was told by his "chassan teacher" not to look at his wife unclothed. It seems like this is not the real halacha to me, or at ...
Desert Star's user avatar
  • 3,403
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is hair sometimes considered *erva* (nakedness) but sometimes not?

Why do people say that the hair of a married woman is considered as nakedness, but not the hair of a single woman? Isn't hair just hair? What if a man grew his hair long - would it also be ...
Adam Mosheh's user avatar
  • 6,015
14 votes
4 answers
2k views

What is the source for the Kallah's circling the Chasan 7 times?

What is the source for a Kallah (bride) to circle her Chasan (bridegroom) seven times at their wedding?
Gershon Gold's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
718 views

Can a man miss tefilah with a minyan because his wife is overwhelmed with the children?

Assume a scenario where a man's wife requires extra help at home during a busy part of the day and requests that her husband skip minyan (and daven alone) in order to help her. (For example, let's say ...
avner's user avatar
  • 755
11 votes
2 answers
2k views

Polyandry and Polygamy In Judaism

What is rule and constraint on polygamy and polyandry in Jewish law? Are they allowed or prohibited? In both cases--whether allowed or not--give me the sources. I found one or two questions on ...
Tofeeq's user avatar
  • 868
10 votes
1 answer
699 views

Why only 100 zuz to a widow/divorcee?

In a Ketubah, the Rabbis instituted that a man should obligate himself to pay his wife, should he chose to divorce her (or he dies). If she had never been married before, he obligates himself to pay ...
Menachem's user avatar
  • 44.4k
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be eligible to marry a Kohen?

If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be eligible to marry a Kohen? Case #1 -- Assume her husband is a Jew by birth. Case #2 -- Assume her husband converted to Judaism prior ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Are Jewish women permitted to use birth control that stops menstruation?

Is there any reason that a Jewish woman who has permission from her Rabbi to use birth control could not choose a pill that stops her from menstruating? Although certain birth control pills are ...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.8k

1
2 3 4 5