Age of Marriage Under Jewish Law
The Jewish website, Jewfaq.org, says:
The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls;
however, the kiddushin [betrothal] can take place before that, and often did in
medieval times.
(JewFaq.org, http://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm)
The age of twelve approximates the commencement of puberty. According to Jewish
Law, marriage at this age is not just allowed, but rather it is actively encouraged and
fathers are advised to quickly wed their pubescent daughters. We read:
One passage that would echo long and loud for Ashkenazic Jews throughout the
Middle Ages held that a man who marries off his sons and daughters near the
period of puberty (samukh le-firkan) will receive the scriptural blessing: “you
shall know that your tent is in peace” (Job 5:24), 101 evidently understood to
mean that if one’s children were married, they would not succumb to sexual
temptation” (Biale, 1997:p49-50)[95]
(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, http://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)
So Jewish Law allows men to marry twelve year olds, whom today would be considered
“child brides”. But the plot thickens! Even the age limit of twelve is not absolute.
Rather, twelve years old is merely the age at which a girl can herself decide to get
married. Before that, however, her father can have her married off, without her
permission.
We read from the website of the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations:
According to Jewish religious law (halacha), which in Israel confers validity on
the marriage of Jews conducted within its borders, it is possible to marry a young
girl of any age, but the girl herself may decide to marry only when she has
reached the age of 12 and a half.
(U.N. representative, http://www.right-to-education.org/co...ge/israel.html)
The authoritative Jewish website, AskMoses.com, says:
What is the minimum age of marriage according to Jewish law?
by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg
…In ancient (and not so ancient) times however, marriage was often-times
celebrated at a rather young age. Although we do not follow this dictum,
technically speaking, a girl may be betrothed the moment she is born, and married
at the age of three. [Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 37:1.] A boy may betroth and
marry at the age of thirteen. [Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 43:1]
(AskMoses.com, http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=573&o=2488)
The Talmud recommends that a daughter be given in marriage at around the age of
twelve (i.e. the commencement of puberty), but Jewish fathers were historically allowed
to marry their daughters off even before that age. Surprisingly, the wife could be as
young as three years old. According to Jewish Law, such marriages were officially
sealed by the man having sex with the baby. We read:
In the ancient world, Jewish law seemed to require an act of intercourse for a
betrothal to be recognised. The Mishnah said: "A girl three years old and one
day may be betrothed by intercourse […]" (Mishnah, Nid. V. 4). Maimonides
(A. D. 1180) states: "If she is three years and one day old she may be betrothed by
an act of intercourse, with the consent of her father. If she is less than that, and her
father has her betrothed by an act of intercourse, she is not betrothed"
([1972:p18][78]). Edwardes (1967a:p168)[79]: "The early-marriage tradition of
Israel found acceptance in Christendom, whose precocious children bedded and
wedded at or even before puberty...At the time of St. Paul, girls were married
at puberty or a little before.
(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, http://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)
Although twelve was set as the recommended age, Jewish fathers were marrying their
daughters off well before that. We read:
Although the Talmud recommended that a daughter be given in marriage when
na'rah, between the ages of twelve and twelve and a half, a father could marry her
off well before that time…16th century Jewish history reveals a prevalence of girl
"child" marriage, many of whom were between 12 and 14 years of age (Lamdan,
1996)[86]
The early marriage age may be attributed to several factors: an attempt to prevent
the temptation of sexual relations before marriage; the effort to arrange the best
possible match both socially and economically; the insecurity of diaspora
Jews during the age of expulsions from Spain and Ottoman expansion, moving
them to establish ties that would assure the children's financial future; and the
desire to raise a new generation of Jews as quickly as possible to assure the
continuity of their people.
(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, http://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)
According to many Jewish scholars, a girl should be married off as soon as she hits
puberty and no later. The Jewish Encyclopedia says:
Age for Marriage
The first positive commandment of the Bible, according to rabbinic interpretation
(Maimonides, "Minyan ha-Miẓwot," 212), is that concerning the propagation of
the human species (Gen. i. 28). It is thus considered the duty of every Israelite to
marry as early in life as possible…Some urge that children should marry as
soon as they reach the age of puberty.
(Jewish Encyclopedia,
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/vi...er=M&artid=216)
In the journal entitled Women in Judaism, we find that Jews were still marrying at the age
of puberty up until World War I:
A Daughter’s Coming of Age
In earlier days, girls got married at the age of nine…[following the] custom
of marrying daughters at age eight to ten…if the maiden does not get married
until the age of fifteen she has no hope of marriage, because she would be
considered an old maid…At the end of the nineteenth century, despite these
regulations, families still married their daughters at the age of twelve and
thirteen…On the eve of World War I, the situation changed somewhat for the
better when the legal age for marriage was raised to fifteen.
(Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal,
http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/jour...2/sehayek.html)
Jewish girls “got married at the age of nine”, a practice which continued up until “the eve
of World War I”. Why then are the Jews criticizing Prophet Muhammad (peace e upon
him) for marrying Aisha (peace be upon her) at the age of nine? Is this not hypocrisy? Is
this not a case of living in a glass house and throwing stones? Why is it that Christian
adversaries condemn Muslims but say nothing at all to their Jewish counterparts?
To conclude, we close with the words of Mark E. Pietrzyk:
According to the Talmud, the recommended age for marriage is sometime after
twelve for females, and thirteen for males. Marriage below these ages was
generally frowned upon. However, a father was allowed to betroth his daughter
to another man at an earlier age, and sexual intercourse was regarded as a valid
means of sealing a betrothal. The age limit for betrothal through sexual
intercourse was shockingly low. According to the Talmud, “A girl of the age of
three years and one day may be betrothed by intercourse.”
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, http://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)