Nations and peoples throughout history have formulated norms that govern interpersonal relations. In this sense the Jewish Law is unique, as it is not a system of regulations
of a state but of a people with more than 3000 years of history. They have rarely lived in a sovereign state of their own; they have most often been dispersed throughout the world and lived
in different social orders. Various legal systems have had some influence on the development
of Jewish legal norms; nevertheless, the Jews have preserved their autonomy, which is particularly evident in their wedding rites. They consider marriage a religious institution that
is subject to divine laws; consequently, the Jewish marriage law has to implement the ethical
and religious ideals of marriage as ordained by the Law in concrete life and practice. In this
sense the Jewish marriage law extracts the celebration of marriage from the private sphere
of the fiancés and their families and emphasizes the social and moral character of this institution and its fulfillment of the divine plan for human beings, for it is “not good for the man
to be alone” (Gen 2,18). The prophets compare the marriage bond to the covenant between God and the chosen people of Israel. The Jewish marriage is not a sacrament in the Christian
sense but a mitzvah, that is, a fulfillment of a religious commandment. It is a berith, a holy
covenant that entails rights as well as duties. The marriage bond is intended for humans
to proliferate and to make them happy in communion with another; it is thus of great social
importance. The article presents particulars of the Jewish wedding and marriage practice,
which come from the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic tradition, whereby marriage is contracted
in stages; it also deals with the question of divorce.
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