ABSTRACT
Marriage (nisu-in, kenisah lehupah, hupah), the wedding, was the third stage, although often held with the betrothal. The wedding had several components, some similar to Catholic practices, with equal ambiguity about which effected the marriage. The procedures included presenting the ketubah, entering under the marriage canopy (hupah), reciting seven blessings over a glass of wine (sheva berakhot or birkat hatanim), spending time together alone, and post-coital separation. This chapter examines the balance between families in terms of wedding costs as well as customs, bridal adornments and gifts, last-minute and Sabbath negotiations, and contractual provisions for release of the widow from the levirate connection with her brother-in-law in case of her husband’s death without offspring. After the marriage, if relations broke down, including wife-beating, divorce became an option for a man but difficult for a woman to initiate. A woman, however, could pressure her husband to issue a coerced divorce (kefiat get) by drawing on the resources of her family, courts, or the community. Some women rebelled, tried to collect assets from their husbands, or simply seized them and fled. Nevertheless, Jewish women, unlike Catholic women, could get a divorce, for a price, and then be free to remarry, if they wished.
