PEH159

PEH159

A man who was already married went to a foreign city and became engaged to another woman there. When it became known that he was already married, the community leaders did not allow him to marry the second woman. In response, the man legally married the second woman in a non-Jewish court. Subsequently, the community leaders expelled him from the community. He remained in the city and lived with the woman for several years, and she observed the laws of marital purity. Later, the man left the woman and returned to his first wife in his hometown. The second wife inquired whether she needed a divorce document (Scheidebrief), as according to non-Jewish law, her marriage would be considered void due to bigamy. Samuel ben Salomo a Catan ruled that she would only need a divorce document if the man's whereabouts were known, allowing him to be summoned. The fact that the woman observed the laws of marital purity was irrelevant to the question of whether the marriage was religiously valid. Additionally, it was reassuring that the man's exclusion from the Jewish community ensured that there were no valid witnesses to confirm either consummation or the marriage itself.

1

159

1740-10-22

1741-02-17

Catan

Catan, Samuel ben Shlomo

AthiasD

Athias, David Israel