Editing Jewish views on marriage (section)

== Betrothal and marriage ==
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Het Joodse bruidje.jpg|thumb|260px|''The Jewish Bride'' ([[Rembrandt]], 1662–6)]]
In [[Jewish law]], marriage consists of two separate acts, called {{transliteration|he|[[erusin]]}} or {{transliteration|he|kiddushin}},{{efn|Sometimes the word {{transliteration|he|kiddushin}} may be used to refer to marriage as a whole, and not just the betrothal.}} which is the [[betrothal]] ceremony, and {{transliteration|he|nissu'in}} or {{transliteration|he|[[chupah]]}}, the actual [[Jewish wedding|Jewish wedding ceremony]]. {{transliteration|he|Erusin}} changes the couple's personal circumstances, while {{transliteration|he|nissu'in}} brings about the legal consequences of the change of circumstances. In [[Talmud]]ic times, these two ceremonies usually took place up to a year apart; the bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony ({{transliteration|he|nissuin}}), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her. Since the Middle Ages the two ceremonies have taken place as a combined ceremony performed in public.<ref>[https://www.daat.ac.il/DAAT/toshba/ishut/ishut2.htm Kiddushin ve-nesuin] (Hebrew).</ref>

In Ancient Judaism a marriage could be established in three ways: money, contract, or sexual intercourse.<ref name="c287">{{cite book | first1=Danya | last1=Ruttenberg | author-link=Danya Ruttenberg | editor-last1=Dorff | editor-first1=Elliot N. | editor-link=Elliot N. Dorff | editor-last2=Crane | editor-first2=Jonathan K. | chapter=Jewish Sexual Ethics | title=The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality | publisher=Oxford University Press | series=Oxford Handbooks Series | year=2016 | isbn=978-0-19-060838-5 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHcRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA384 | access-date=2024-07-26 | pages=384–385}}</ref>

According to the Talmud,<ref>Kiddushin 1:1</ref> {{transliteration|he|erusin}} involves the groom handing an object to the bride – either an object of value such as a ring, or a document stating that she is being betrothed to him. In order to be valid, this must be done in the presence of two unrelated male witnesses. After {{transliteration|he|erusin}}, the laws of [[adultery]] apply, and the marriage cannot be dissolved without a [[Get (divorce document)|religious divorce]]. After {{transliteration|he|nisuin}}, the couple may live together.

The act of {{transliteration|he|erusin}} may be made by the intending parties or by their respective parents or other relatives on their behalf with their consent. A man and a woman cannot be betrothed to one another without agency and consent.<ref>([[Nashim|Kiddushin]] 9b)</ref> The act is formalized in a document known as the {{transliteration|he|Shtar Tena'im}}, the "Document of Conditions" which is read prior to the {{transliteration|he|badekin}}. After the reading, the mothers of the future bride and groom break a plate. Today, some sign the contract on the day of the wedding, some do it as an earlier ceremony, and some do not do it at all. It should also be emphasized that this practice is not explicitly mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] communities, marriages may be arranged by the parents of the prospective bride and groom, who may arrange a {{transliteration|he|[[shidduch]]}} by engaging a professional match-maker ({{transliteration|he|shadchan}}) who finds and introduces the prospective bride and groom and receives a fee for their services. The young couple is not forced to marry if either does not accept the other.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffpost.com/entry/hasidic-marriages-are-not-forced_b_1334785 | title=Hasidic Marriages Are Not Forced, nor Arranged. They Are Perhaps Recommended | date=9 March 2012 }}</ref>