Ros. Responsa 19 c

Ros. Responsa 19 c

Marriage

1926

Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana

George de Lange

de Lange

Even Ha'Ezer

TRUE

Witnesses to an out-of-town marriage report ceremony irregularities, question the marriage validity but offer remedial measures.

A man comes with his wife from a far off country where he married her a few weeks ago. and he showed the ketuba to the head of the bet din of the town. And he certified it by the signatures of tow trusted community members in the far off country known to him as reliable. And now one of the family members comes forward to argue inadvertently against the order of the marriage ceremony, by saying that the reliable witnesses were standing opposite the giving of the ring, speaking to each other without paying any attention, so that they did not see nor hear what was happening. And the head of the Bet Din called upon two friends who travelled with the family to the wedding, only as unrelated friends (?), asking them about this matter. They said:"It is true what was claimed and we also spoke to the rabbi who performed the marriage ceremony. He told us that he did not bother to check on this, and also did not call on the witnesses to come forward during the ceremony, because they can be assumed to be paying attention through their assigned roles (?). But did he really care? (?). But the two of us stood there among the family and we heard and saw that everything was done properly, and we are prepared to bear witness to everything, and to sign our names on the Ketuba.". And as proof that they were telling the truth, that they saw and heard everything well, they said that they saw the bride took off the ring from her hand which the matchmaker had given her on the day of the match as is customary in many places, and she gave it tom the groom and he then placed the same ring on the hand of the bride at the time he said "hereby you are betrothed...". and now the question is what should be done.