Does Civil Marriage Count? What are the Halakhic Implications for Non-Orthodox and Civil Ceremonies?
Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash made aliyah from Philadelphia almost 30 years ago after graduating from Stern College. She studied for three years in Matan’s Advanced Talmud Institute and finished a master’s degree in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University. She is a graduate of Nishmat’s Yoetzet Halacha program and Matan’s advanced halakha program, Hilkhata. She teaches Tanach, Halakha and Talmud at Matan Pardes, and Torah V’Avodah (TVA), a Bnei Akiva seminary. She is an active member of Beit Hillel and participates in interfaith dialogue through Roots, based in Gush Etzion, close to where she lives with her family.
In this shiur we look at what defines a Jewish marriage. Is it the technical particulars of the ceremony or is it a commitment between a man and woman which is reflected in their state of being? This has direct relevance on marriages both in the Diaspora but most particularly in Israel where only religious marriage is mandated by the State.