Judaism: Marriage and the Family

What Judaism: Marriage and the Family covers

Judaism: Marriage and the Family is examined in Paper 1, Area of Study 1: Religion and Ethics, if Judaism is the religion studied for that area. It covers the purpose of marriage in Judaism, Jewish teachings on sexual relationships, the purpose of the Jewish family, how the Jewish community supports families, Jewish attitudes to contraception and family planning, Jewish teachings on divorce and remarriage, men and women in the Jewish family and Judaism and gender prejudice.

The 8 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The purpose of marriage in JudaismProverbs 18:22, marriage as a mitzvah and what kiddushin shows, passing on the faith, marrying within Judaism, shalom bayit, cohabitation and Humanist weddings, and Orthodox and Reform responses.Open →
• Jewish teachings on sexual relationshipsGenesis 1:28 and 1:31, onah, the Song of Songs, the family purity laws, sex outside marriage, same-sex relationships and Chief Rabbi Mirvis's 2018 guidance on LGBT+ pupils, and Humanist views.Open →
• The purpose of the Jewish familyProcreation and Psalm 127 on children, security, the duty to educate, honouring parents, passing on Jewish identity, the types of family in modern Britain, and Orthodox, Reform and Liberal responses.Open →
• How the Jewish community supports familiesJoshua ben Gamla and class sizes in Talmud Bava Batra 21, rival teachers, family worship and rites of passage, the cheder, Jewish youth groups, counselling and welfare, and supporting families as a religious duty.Open →
• Jewish attitudes to contraception and family planningTalmud Yevamot 61b and the schools of Shammai and Hillel, wasting seed, when an Orthodox rabbi may permit contraception, Reform and Liberal views, a duty to have children after the Holocaust, and situation ethics.Open →
• Jewish teachings on divorce and remarriageThe get and the agunah, UK law for women refused a get, Hillel and Shammai on grounds for divorce, Maimonides' Ishut 24, arguments for and against, remarriage, and Orthodox, Liberal and Humanist views.Open →
• Men and women in the Jewish familyGenesis 1:27–28 on men and women, Orthodox roles and time-bound mitzvot, women's religious role at home, Eshet Chayil, a husband's duties under the ketubah, Reform weddings, and change in Modern Orthodox homes.Open →
• Judaism and gender prejudiceIsrael's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty and other laws protecting women, leaders in the Tenakh, Golda Meir and Regina Jonas, Britain's first woman rabbi, Orthodox objections to women rabbis, and Women of the Wall.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Judaism: Marriage and the Family further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Get vs Ketubah

  Get: the bill of divorce a husband gives his wife. Ketubah: the marriage contract listing a husband's duties to his wife.

• Agunah vs Beth Din

  Agunah: a wife whose husband refuses to release her from marriage. Beth Din: a rabbinical court that rules on Jewish law.

• Kiddushin vs Shalom bayit

  Kiddushin: the holy setting apart of husband and wife as partners. Shalom bayit: peace and harmony within the home.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does Proverbs 18:22 teach about marriage?

   Model answer

   Proverbs 18:22 says that a man who finds a wife finds a good thing and receives favour from the Lord. Jews see marriage as a blessing from God.

2. 2

   Why is marriage seen as a mitzvah in Judaism?

   Model answer

   Genesis 2:18 says it is not good for a human to be alone. Marriage fulfils God's plan for companionship and the command to have children.

3. 3

   What does the Hebrew word kiddushin show about Jewish marriage?

   Model answer

   Kiddushin means “holiness” or “setting apart”. Husband and wife dedicate themselves to each other alone in a holy bond.

4. 4

   What are the main purposes of marriage in Judaism?

   Model answer

   Marriage provides lifelong companionship and love between husband and wife. Marriage also creates a secure setting for having and raising Jewish children.

5. 5

   Why is marriage important for passing on the Jewish faith?

   Model answer

   A married couple builds a Jewish home, where Shabbat, festivals and kashrut are practised. Children learn their faith first from their parents.

6. 6

   Why do many Jews prefer to marry another Jew?

   Model answer

   Many Jews believe a Jewish partner helps keep Jewish practice and identity alive in the next generation. Orthodox Judaism does not recognise a marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Judaism: Marriage and the Family revision questions

What does Judaism: Marriage and the Family cover in Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B?

8 subtopics: the purpose of marriage in judaism, jewish teachings on sexual relationships, the purpose of the jewish family, how the jewish community supports families, jewish attitudes to contraception and family planning, jewish teachings on divorce and remarriage, men and women in the jewish family and judaism and gender prejudice. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Judaism: Marriage and the Family organised?

By the Edexcel 1RB0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.