Q&A: A Question About the Practical Difference in the Two-Story Model of Marriage and Kiddushin
A Question About the Practical Difference in the Two-Story Model of Marriage and Kiddushin
Question
Hello Rabbi,
The Rabbi occasionally speaks in articles about the two-story model of kiddushin and marriage,
where kiddushin in Judaism directs marriage—that is, a legal-halakhic intention applied to a general human state.
I wanted to ask whether there is any halakhic practical difference in understanding the two-story model as opposed to the more common understanding in the yeshiva world (as I understand it).
That is, between understanding the concept of kiddushin as a directive commandment that is built on top of natural marriage (the two-story model),
and understanding the concept of kiddushin as itself creating marriage in its own right (as I understand it, this is the more standard view in the yeshiva world).
In effect, the second view is an approach that does not see a two-story model, but rather sees two structures side by side.
In that image, non-Jews enter the structure of marriage, while Jews—if they did not perform kiddushin—have done nothing, even if they had sexual relations and even if they want to establish their lives in a “serious” partnership.
Thank you
Answer
https://docs.google.com/document/d/0BwJAdMjYRm7IVUJJM29EY0syTHc/edit?resourcekey=0-uQiV6kBjUYbJGu2p2jTIpQ&tab=t.0