I recently wrote an essay for thegemara.com on the origins of Jewish betrothal. The primary but not only context for this essay is to provide a new, historical lens for those who, working through the “daf yomi” cycle of reading a page of Talmud each day through to its completion, have just started tractate Kiddushin. The piece is below or can be accessed on the site here. A Detached Kiddushin March 13, 2016Daf YomiKiddushin The historical context within which to read the Talmudic discussions of kiddushin. Prof. Michael Satlow Abstract: In antiquity, marriage by Jews and non-Jews alike was a natural process, not defined solely by a single legal moment. Through the requirement of kiddushin, the rabbis revived an ancient institution known in the bible as Erusin (אירוסין), imbuing it with a binding legal significance despite apparent public disinterest. How should we understand the rise of rabbinic kiddushin? What exactly did the rabbis have to gain in its establishment? Introduction: Acquiring a Wife האשה נקנית בשלוש דרכים, וקונה את עצמה בשתי דרכים “A woman is acquired in three ways and acquires herself in two ways,” the opening mishnah in tractate Kiddushin states; it continues: “She is acquired by means of money, contract, or […]
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