PEH283

PEH283

The question arises whether a marriage is legally valid according to Maimonides if the groom said the crucial phrase, 'You are betrothed to me,' in Hebrew, but the bride, who is notorious for not understanding Hebrew, was present. In the response, Jacob b. Abraham Bassan explains that in Amsterdam, most women pray in a foreign language and do not understand Hebrew. He further states: 'I have also asked a number of women who have attended weddings frequently about the meaning of the word 'angetraut' (betrothed), but they did not know or understand it. How much more so for young girls who attend the wedding feast but are not in the same room during the ceremony.' Based on this, he considers the marriage invalid if the bride specifically stated that she did not know what was happening, and there was no prior discussion with her about the wedding. To be safe, a divorce certificate (Scheidebrief) should be given to the bride. If this is no longer possible, the marriage should be considered nonexistent.

3

1751-01-05

1751-04-26

BassanJ

Bassan, Jacob ben Abraham

AthiasD

Athias, David Israel