Newman Luke (talk | contribs) add brief clarification of age of majority for males |
Newman Luke (talk | contribs) →In practice: remove statistic for child marriage - as there is an article for child marriage in Judaism, now. |
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In mediaeval times, [[peer pressure|cultural pressure]] within Jewish communities lead to most girls being married while they were still children - before they had become a ''bogeret''<ref>''Kiddushin'' ([[tosafot]]) 41a</ref>. Boys too, were under cultural pressure; several [[Talmud]]ic rabbis urged that boys should be married as soon as they reach the age of majority<ref>''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]]'' 76b</ref>. Indeed, anyone unmarried after the age of twenty was said to have been cursed by God<ref>''Kiddushin'' 29b</ref>; [[beth din|rabbinical courts]] frequently tried to compel an individual to marry, if they had passed the age of twenty without marriage<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Marriage Laws''</ref>. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis viewed study of the [[Torah]] as a valid reason for remaining unmarried, although they were only rarely willing to regard life-long celibacy favourably<ref>''Yebamot'' 63b</ref>. |
In mediaeval times, [[peer pressure|cultural pressure]] within Jewish communities lead to most girls being married while they were still children - before they had become a ''bogeret''<ref>''Kiddushin'' ([[tosafot]]) 41a</ref>. Boys too, were under cultural pressure; several [[Talmud]]ic rabbis urged that boys should be married as soon as they reach the age of majority<ref>''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]]'' 76b</ref>. Indeed, anyone unmarried after the age of twenty was said to have been cursed by God<ref>''Kiddushin'' 29b</ref>; [[beth din|rabbinical courts]] frequently tried to compel an individual to marry, if they had passed the age of twenty without marriage<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Marriage Laws''</ref>. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis viewed study of the [[Torah]] as a valid reason for remaining unmarried, although they were only rarely willing to regard life-long celibacy favourably<ref>''Yebamot'' 63b</ref>. |
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Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis<ref>''[[Yebamot]]'' 44a</ref><ref>''Sanhedrin'' 76a</ref>. In |
Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis<ref>''[[Yebamot]]'' 44a</ref><ref>''Sanhedrin'' 76a</ref>. In the middle ages, many rabbis tried to abolish child marriage altogether; this, however, was due to their distaste for ''mi'un'', rather than due to any concern about [[paedophilia]]<ref name="JewEncMiu" />. Effectively, child marriage became nearly obsolete in Judaism <ref name="JewEncMiu" />; in modern times, it is an extremely rare event, as most areas with large Jewish communities have national laws against it. |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 17:58, 10 November 2009
The marriageable age, in Judaism, is highly gender-specific. Although boys were regarded, by classical rabbinic literature, as sexual beings once they had reached 9 years of age[1], girls were regarded as sexual beings from the age of just 3. According to the Talmud, it was permissible for an adult male to have sexual intercourse with a 3 year old girl, if she was maritally single[2]; girls could be betrothed (Hebrew: erusin) and married (Hebrew: nissu'in) at this age[1].
By contrast, the earliest point at which a male is permitted to become betrothed (erusin) is the age of majority[3]; for a male, the age of majority, in Judaism, is usually 13 years of age plus one day, but could be as late as 35 years plus one day, in certain circumstances[1]). Marriage itself (nissu'in) is distinct from betrothal (erusin), which is merely a binding promise to marry at a later point; according to the Talmud, betrothal should occur at least 30 days before the corresponding marriage[4], and therefore the marriageable age would be the age of maturity plus 30 days, for males.
Child marriage
Child marriage was possible in Judaism, due to the very low marriageable age for females. By age, females were categorised into three groups:
- a ketannah (literally meaning little [one]) was any girl between the age of 3 years and that of 12 years plus one day[1].
- a na'arah (roughly meaning damsel) was any girl who was older than 12 years plus one day, by less than six months[1]. In Judaism, 12 years is the usual age of majority for girls, although in certain circumstances the age of majority could be as high as 35 years plus one day[1]. However, girls remained a na'arah until they had definitely passed the age of majority[1]
- a bogeret (literally meaning overripe [one]) was any girl who was older than 12 years plus one day, who was no longer a na'arah[1]. A bogeret was essentially an adult in all respects[5]
A ketannah was completely subject to her father's authority, and her father could arrange a marriage for her, whether she agreed to it or not[1]; similarly her father could accept a divorce document (get) on her behalf[6]. According to the Talmud, if the marriage did end (due to divorce or the husband's death), any further marriages were optional; the ketannah had the right to annul them[7]. If the father was dead, or missing, the brothers of the ketannah, collectively, had the right to arrange a marriage for her, as had her mother[1], although in these situations a ketannah would always have the right to annul her marriage, even if it was the first[7].
The choice of a ketannah to annul a marriage, known in Hebrew as mi'un (literally meaning refusal/denial/protest)[7], lead to a true annulment, not a divorce; a divorce document (get) was not necessary[8], and a ketannah who did this was not regarded by legal regulations as a divorcee, in relation to the marriage[9]. Unlike divorce, mi'un was regarded with distaste by many rabbinic writers[7], even in the Talmud[10]; in earlier classical Judaism, one major faction - the House of Shammai - argued that such annulment rights only existed during the betrothal period (erusin), and not once the actual marriage (nissu'in) had begun[11].
In the Talmud, there is inconclusive debate about whether the na'arah should be treated like the ketannah in relation to marriage and its annulment, or whether she should have the freedom to marry as she wished, like the bogeret[12][13].
In practice
Rather than being seen as merely a literary device to quickly describe the populating of the earth, the biblical instruction to go forth and multiply[14] was interpreted by the classical rabbis to mean that it was the duty of every male Jew to marry as soon as possible[15]; this duty was thought by them to end once the husband had fathered both a son and a daughter[16], although they also argued that no man should live without a wife, even after he has several children[17] .
In mediaeval times, cultural pressure within Jewish communities lead to most girls being married while they were still children - before they had become a bogeret[18]. Boys too, were under cultural pressure; several Talmudic rabbis urged that boys should be married as soon as they reach the age of majority[19]. Indeed, anyone unmarried after the age of twenty was said to have been cursed by God[20]; rabbinical courts frequently tried to compel an individual to marry, if they had passed the age of twenty without marriage[21]. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis viewed study of the Torah as a valid reason for remaining unmarried, although they were only rarely willing to regard life-long celibacy favourably[22].
Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis[23][24]. In the middle ages, many rabbis tried to abolish child marriage altogether; this, however, was due to their distaste for mi'un, rather than due to any concern about paedophilia[7]. Effectively, child marriage became nearly obsolete in Judaism [7]; in modern times, it is an extremely rare event, as most areas with large Jewish communities have national laws against it.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Majority". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ Niddah 44b
- ^ Kiddushin, 50b
- ^ Ketubot 57b
- ^ Niddah 47a
- ^ Ketubot, 64b
- ^ a b c d e f This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Mi'un". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ Yebamot 107a
- ^ Yebamot 108a
- ^ Yebamot 109a
- ^ Yebamot 107a
- ^ Kiddushin 43b
- ^ Kiddushin 44a
- ^ Genesis 1:28
- ^ Maimonides, Minyan haMitzvot, 212
- ^ Yebamot 61a
- ^ Yebamot 61a
- ^ Kiddushin (tosafot) 41a
- ^ Sanhedrin 76b
- ^ Kiddushin 29b
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia, Marriage Laws
- ^ Yebamot 63b
- ^ Yebamot 44a
- ^ Sanhedrin 76a