Question about Jewish Law

[daveleau]

In the time of Jesus, what was the protocol for a man to remarry if he had been married before and either his wife had died or he had been divorced b/c of adultery? Does the couple still go through the betrothed phase? Is it the same or different?
Thanks
Dave

[simchat_torah]

Does the couple still go through the betrothed phase? Is it the same or different?

Well, there were a few proposed situations that you gave before this question. Depending on the situation (and school of thought) the answer will vary.

If the man was divorced because of adutry by his former wife, he must have gone through the proper bill of divorcement, literally a "get" in Hebrew. He must have stood before the Beit Din (rabbinic court of law) with at least 2 witnesses (the wife does not count, she is the accused) that can testify of her unfaithfulness. Up to this point it would be the same if a Wife came before the Beit Din. Now, if it is a man seeking a divorce, he must then pay for the Get (pay his now 'ex-wife' a sum of money). This is to ensure that she is taken care of financially.

Now for the death of a spouse...

There were (and are) two schools of thought on this matter in Judaism. The first says that G-d has formed two halves of a soul and spirit and when they are brought together, they are made one. These two halves are destined to be together. Thus there can only be one person who is your spouse in the world. The other school of thought says that G-d fuses two souls and two spirits together into one upon marriage. When the second spouse dies, the first is allowed to remarry after a time of mourning if the so desire.

Some may argue against the first view because they say we are a fallen race, and thus we can not perfectly know who our "other half" is supposed to be, so we make the wisest decision possible, and that is blessed by G-d.

The first school of thought would reply that, yes, we are a fallen race. However, this did not change the plan of G-d, and we are to seek His perfect way. Obviously His perfect desire is not always done (ie: not all are saved), but this should not deter us from seeking to follow His perfect will.

So, I hope this answers your questions.
I guess the decision is really up to you, but in short, Judaism was quite diverse in the first century, as it is today.

shalom,
yafet

[daveleau]

Outstanding post. Thank you. It appears that there is no real ammunition, so to speak, for me here but I am always eager to learn regardless of whether the information suits my purpose or not.
My reason for asking was to see if it was prudent according to the Law for Mary to have married Joseph, if indeed his children spoken about in the Gospel were his by another marriage and not Mary's children born after Jesus. I was looking for evidence to refute the claim that Jesus' siblings were older than He was.
Thank you and God bless you,
Dave

[simchat_torah]

My reason for asking was to see if it was prudent according to the Law for Mary to have married Joseph, if indeed his children spoken about in the Gospel were his by another marriage and not Mary's children born after Jesus. I was looking for evidence to refute the claim that Jesus' siblings were older than He was.
Well, one possibility is that Mary was actually past the age of giving birth... that she went through menopause. You see, according to the Halacha (oral law) of the day, a woman who had gone through menopause was referred to as the same Hebrew word for virgin.

Considering two things:
1) The way Mary addresses Elizabeth
and
2) (prophecy is always immediately and literally fulfilled and then esoterically fulfilled at a later date) Isaiah's prophecy was literally fulfilled by his wife giving birth, though she was past the age of child rearing (Isaiah 9)

it then becomes a possibility.

Whether you accept this as true or not I suppose is really up to you. However, to say Joseph was previously married... well, that's just building an argument on a straw man... no evidence what so ever exists.

shalom,
yafet

[daveleau]

Yep, I agree that it could be possible. I tend to think of Mary as being younger, because it would mean she was in her late 70s to early 90s when Jesus was Crucified. While anything is possible with God, and while there were many previously who outlived that age in the OT, the life expectancies were fairly low. There's simply not much information on her in the Bible. ...and I think there is a reason for that...kind of like why God had John word John's gospel the way He did in the first few chapters (to refute the Gnostic's focus of John the Baptist) ;)

On a separate note, I consider myself a NT Christian because my upbringing has been as such. I am no longer tied to the church that I was raised in and regret not having much of an OT background. My first class in my masters degree that I start on the 10th of this month is an OT study. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!

Great information! Do you have any sites that discuss the intricacies of Jewish history around the times when the Bible was written (OT and NT). Thanks!
Dave

[simchat_torah]

I know that Avi ben Mordechai has an article written up somewhere about the age of Mary. For the life of me I can't remember where I read it... he does hint at it in Messiah volume 3, but doesn't go into much detail.

But he examines in great detail the age of Mary by the way that her and Elizabeth interacted. Quite an interesting study if you can find it and have the time.

shalom,
yafet

[TasManOfGod]

Is it permitted to be clean shaven under Mosaic Law?
This is genuine Q to answer conflict in another forum