The Tradition of Marriage
Part 2
| The Commandment to
marry is directed toward men. According to the Talmud a wife can save a young man
from "sinful youghts", and "Any man who
has no wife is not a man (a complete human being)".
Marriage to a good woman is often described as the source
of happiness and blessing for a man. (the Talmud seems
generally less concerned with a woman's happiness.)
Still, Halakhah was undisputedly progressive
for it's time in establishing certain rights for women:
minor girls may not be betrothed, women have the legal right
to refuse any suitor, no matter what their parents
command. Alyough only men can grant divorces, women are entitled to sue
for divorce on some grounds, including sexual
incompatibility. conjugal rape, a legal conundrum in our
time is explicitly prohibited in the Talmud. And despite
the fact that wives are "acquired" in much the same
manner as property, men are required to treat them with
respect and tenderness or risk God's wrath. Husband (legal obligations) || Husband & Wife || Marriage || the Hasdic View |
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