"Unprecedented" Halakhic Ruling Allows Pregnant Woman To Marry

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's ruling allows a woman who conceived from donor sperm to marry.

Rabbi Yosef allows pregnant woman to marry

Sephardic spiritual leader sets unprecedented ruling by allowing woman who conceived from donor sperm to wed

Nissan Shtrauchler • Ynet

In an unprecedented halachic ruling, Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has allowed a woman pregnant by artificial insemination to marry a man who is not the father of the developing child.

M., a 44-year old religious woman, decided to get pregnant through a sperm bank because she feared she would not be able to conceive if she waited any longer.

However immediately after her insemination she met a 50-year old widower and the two quickly decided to wed, after the latter accepted responsibility for the child.

The couple immediately ran into trouble: According to the Jewish halacha, a pregnant woman is not allowed to marry any man who is not the father for 24 months after the birth.

The ruling preserves the unborn child's rights. Rabbis explain that if the woman becomes pregnant again within the two years that follow the birth, the mother may stop producing milk for the baby.

The couple appealed to the local rabbinate, but was forbidden to marry. They then turned to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who ruled that the mother may use milk substitutes to feed her child if she conceives again in the coming years.
 
Attorney Zuriel Bublil, who helped the couple with their appeal, was pleased with the result. "This is an unprecedented ruling that will help women coming to the end of their fertility," he said.
 
"Rabbi Yosef dealt with halachic reality with great courage, in a matter that many feared to allow or even discuss. The couple wanted to bring the child into the world after they were already married, and their time was almost up."
 
M. and her fiancé were married according to Jewish law on Sunday.

Comments

[kisarita]

Huh? Since when is there a halacha that a pregnant woman can't get married?

[Barry]

In primitive patriarchal clan societies, children (especially boys) remained with their fathers after divorce. If a child was not weaned after the mother's departure, and the father could not arrange (or not wish to pay for) a wet nurse this might endanger the child.

[Esther]

Shmarya:
you may want to correct a typo in your headline: unprecidented should read unprecedented

[Shmarya]

Thanks! Fixed.

[@panamajon]

Maybe I was absent in yeshiva when they taught this halacha but wouldn't the milk reasoning applied above mean a woman can't have a baby within two years of giving birth, regardless of whom she is married to?

Children born that close in age is hardly an uncommon phenomenon in the haredi world.

The only such halacha I recall is the one where a woman can't remarry within 3 months of divorce or death of her spouse to clear uncertainty of paternity in the event she gets pregnant during that time.

[David]

Is it halachically permitted for a single woman to become pregnant through artificial insemination?

[harold]

"Unprecedented" Halakhic Ruling Allows Pregnant Woman To Marry

It mat be unprecedented, but it was a wise one, (black)hats off to him (or should that be streimels).

[David]

Huh? Since when is there a halacha that a pregnant woman can't get married?

Since roughly 2000 years ago. It is mentioned in the mishna.

[David]

It mat be unprecedented, but it was a wise one, (black)hats off to him (or should that be streimels).

Posted by: harold | June 30, 2010 at 06:22 AM

Turbans.

[effie]

A usual, this is really idiotic. There was absolutely no reason these people shouldn't marry. And the rational used to grant them permission is idiotic, too.

[effie]

Oh, and how much did it cost this couple to get married? Somebody's palm always needs to be greased. What a racket!

[seymour]

he used common sense to rule

this could be earth shattering news

usually they say they law is the law end of story

[Shmarya]

A usual, this is really idiotic. There was absolutely no reason these people shouldn't marry. And the rational used to grant them permission is idiotic, too.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has issued many truly groundbreaking rulings, including one that really helped soldiers wounded in the Yom Kippur War.

Unfortunately, halakha is largely controlled by Ashkenazi haredi rabbis, who keep finding more reasons to forbid more things.

For someone who follows halakha – or for an Israeli trapped in a halakhic system for marriage, divorce, etc. – having a leading rabbi like Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is very important.

You can say the halakic system is antiquated or foolish or even idiotic. But you also must understand that close to 2 million people live under it (close to 6 million if you count secular Israelis in marriage, divorce, and similar issues).

For those people, a ruling like this is very important.

[Justin]

Kavod to Rav Yosef. He is a great rabbi, but also one with empathy... something that is all too often lacking.

[Barry]

The reason is given in Yebamoth 42. It is because babies are at risk from step fathers and mothers are too intimidated to do anything about it.

The Gemara discusses the case of whether to allow a pregnant widow to remarry:-

'The reason is rather because a pregnant woman is usually expected to breast-feed her child [and were she to marry during pregnancy] she might conceive again, her milk would become turbid, and she might thereby cause the death of the child. If so, [this applies in the case] of the man's own child also! — His own child she would sustain with eggs and milk. Would she not sustain her own child also with eggs and with milk? — Her husband would not give her the means. Let her claim it from the heirs [of the deceased husband]! — Abaye replied: A woman would shrink from going to court and would rather let her child die.'

[I rather not say]

Someone who got involved with a pregnant woman and the child is not his BUT the father of the child was non-Jewish.

Ruling from a MO [Ashkanazi] Rav:

Nothing against marrying this woman,additionally the child is named after the man who raises this child.
e.g David marries this women, [circumstances from above] so the child's name is (child's name) ben/bat David.

BTW this did not happen - things were happening too fast

I suspect the sperm bank came from non-Jewish men

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

Your top photo of Chacham Yosef with Sephardic garments in outdated, he now dresses like Ashkenazi penguin

[Yochanan Lavie]

Chacham Yosef is usually good when he deals with halacha. It's when he deals with politics that he is problematic.

[effie]

Errata: I meant to say that the rationale used to deny them permission to marry until 24 months after the baby is born is idiotic, too.

[Neo-Conservaguy]

A somewhat similar hardship occurs much more often in the case of an Intermarried couple. If the non-Jewish partner wishes to convert to Judaism, many of the "big name" Orthodox organizations require/desire a three month separation. This separation is apparently to discern if the woman is pregnant at the time of the conversion. It's easy to see that such a requirement discourages rather then encourages couples in such a situation to seek an Orthodox conversion.

[David]

Your top photo of Chacham Yosef with Sephardic garments in outdated, he now dresses like Ashkenazi penguin

Posted by: Bassy the Haredi Slayer | June 30, 2010 at 09:57 AM

Why the change from turban to penguin?

[Bill]

This new Halachic ruling comes to me like a breath of fresh air.

Finally, all the single haredi virgins I knocked up will be able to move on with their lives and get married to a real "ben Torah" who can learn in kollel for them so I don't have to "learn" for all these single ladies anymore.

That's just too much pressure!

Now I can leave kollel myself and get a "real" job as a rebbi for mentally retarded haredi boys, or perhaps become a "Yinglish" teacher in a cheder that cuts paychecks (along with the accompanying $100 cash stipend) on a mere nine month delay.

This is really wonderful news!

[harold]

Why the change from turban to penguin?

Well lets see, he put on tefilin so the turbin must go and, if you look closely, you will see that he is wearing his tallis ergo you have what you call the penguin look.

[Bill]

What's with the eight revolutions of tefillin straps on his forearm?

Is this how the good rabbi rolls now that now that he's lost the ability to count serial sevens?

[Shmarya]

What's with the eight revolutions of tefillin straps on his forearm?

Is this how the good rabbi rolls now that now that he's lost the ability to count serial sevens?

Sefardim and some hasidim – like Chabad – count the first and windings as 1/2 each, because a good portion of eachof those two windings is off the forearm.

You're awfully quick to make fun of people and things you don't know.

[chabadnik attorney]

TY

[fair]

ppl need someone like rabbi ovadia yosef
to keep things going .

thank G- to have him .

if it was up to the ashkenazi rabbis , ppl would not do anything, will not get anything and will rot .

[Catcher50]

@I'd rather not say...

What delusion makes you think that the sperm came from a "non-Jewish sperm bank"? Your attitude is indicative of the bigotry that so permeates the Haredi world.

There is no reason to assume that, assuming that she got pregnant in Israel, the majority of donors weren't Jewish.

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

Chacham Yosef as Penguin (but he is still one of the good guys together with MK Amsalem)

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/images/iht_daily/D281107/250ovadia_TA.jpg
http://www.templeinstitute.org/images/rav_ovadia_yosef-1.jpg
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ovadia21.jpg

[Sephardiman]

Chacham Ovaida is awesome. He's the man...

[R]

I have never heard of this before.
Why do you have to wait 24 months? Not many people breast feed their child for 2 years. Also does his ruling affect everyone or is it only for this couple?

[shirel]

the woman does not have to breast feed .

they are other ways to feed the newborn and to keep him fed and healthy .

the formula or the equivalent .

what's important is that the baby lives and grows .

[Ben]

I beleive R. Moshe Feinstein also permitted this in a published teshuva. His rationale was that the woman who was pregnant (naturally conceived, but from a different father) was in a weak place religiously and that getting married would have a positive effect on the couple and the soon-to-be-born child.