Where Jewish brides pregnant in ancient times?
Where Jewish brides pregnant in ancient times? Dear Rabbi Enkin, I read an article stating that there was a two-stage marriage procedure in ancient Judaism. The first stage was a betrothal ceremony that initiated a maximum three-year probation period during which the couple had sexual relations — in effect, a trial marriage. The main purpose, besides compatibility, was to ensure they could produce children. If, and when, the woman became pregnant, the couple had a marriage ceremony. If there were no pregnancies during the three-year probation period, the man could move on to another woman and another betrothal. Is this true? Nancy Answer: Dear Nancy, Thank you for writing. Allow me to respectfully suggest that you may have confused or otherwise combined several ideas from ancient marriage practices. Pre-marital relations are always forbidden according to Jewish law. In Talmudic times marriage was indeed a two step procedure. The first procedure was known as Erusin or Kiddishin in whic
