Marriage to Sadducean Women

m. Niddah 4:2

70–220

The daughters of the Sadducees, so long as they are accustomed to walking in the paths of their fathers, are to be regarded as Samaritan women [i.e., as nonpracticing Jews]. If they left those paths to walk in the paths of Israel, they are to be regarded as Israelite women. R. Yosi says: They are always regarded as Israelite women unless they leave the paths of Israel to walk in the paths of their fathers.

Adapted from the translation ofJoshua Kulp.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

This mishnah addresses the question of whether it is permissible to marry Sadducean women. The two opinions expressed both permit marriage to a Sadducean woman as long as she does not cling to her father’s Sadducean beliefs. The difference of opinion preserved in this mishnah is whether, in order to be marriageable, a woman of Sadducean descent must affirmatively disavow the beliefs of the Sadducees or whether she merely must not affirmatively adopt them. In either case, there is a strong hesitation to classify Sadducees categorically as forbidden “Others” (see REAL AND IMAGINED “OTHERS”).

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Marriage to Sadducean Women

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