Tradition And Equality In Jewish Marriage

Often when people have become alienated from their religious backgrounds, they access their traditions through lifecycle events such as marriage. At times, modern values such as gender equality may be at odds with some of the traditions; many of which have always been in a state of flux in relationship to changing social, economic and political realities. Traditional Jewish marriage is based on the man acquiring the woman, which has symbolic and actual ramifications. Grounded in the traditional texts yet accessible, this book shows how the marriage is an acquisition and contextualises the gender hierarchy of marriage within the rabbinic exclusion of women from Torah study, the highest cultural practice and women's exemption from positive commandments. Melanie Landau offers two alternative models of partnership that partially or fully bypass the non-reciprocity of traditional Jewish marriage and that have their basis in the ancient rabbinic texts.

Love, Marriage, and Family in the JewishLaw and Tradition is everything you wanted to know about the Jewish view on marriage, sexuality, and child bearing in clear and concise language. This comprehensive book looks to inform the reader about all the Jewish laws concerning family, marriage, procreation, and child rearing.

A classic for more than 20 years, this thought-provoking volume explores the role of Jewish women in the synagogue, in the family, and in the secular world. Greenberg offers ways to change present Jewish practices so that they more readily reflect feminine equality.

Often when people have become alienated from their religious backgrounds, they access their traditions through lifecycle events such as marriage. At times, modern values such as gender equality may be at odds with some of the traditions; many of which have always been in a state of flux in relationship to changing social, economic and political realities. Traditional Jewish marriage is based on the man acquiring the woman, which has symbolic and actual ramifications. Grounded in the traditional texts yet accessible, this book shows how the marriage is an acquisition and contextualises the gender hierarchy of marriage within the rabbinic exclusion of women from Torah study, the highest cultural practice and women's exemption from positive commandments. Melanie Landau offers two alternative models of partnership that partially or fully bypass the non-reciprocity of traditional Jewish marriage and that have their basis in the ancient rabbinic texts.

With the traditions and laws of the Bible as his base, Rabbi Lamm portrays the great effort Judaism has expended in creating and maintaining the institution of marriage. He shows how indispensable it is to society as a whole and to the Jewish community in particular. He summarizes the traditional views of marriage and explores the outward symbols, practices, and customs of the traditional wedding ceremony, explaining their significance. At the same time, he breaks clarifies and explores Jewish law to such topics as premarital sex, homosexuality, and mixed marriages.

Bibliography: p. 245-255.

Part II of this volume deals with divorce in Jewish law and custom. What were the grounds for divorce in the past, and what are they now? What is considered proper divorce procedure, and what documents need be involved? Under what circumstances are husband and wife forbidden to remarry? Even the happiest bride and groom should know the answers to these important questions.