This text discusses the different attitudes of Sephardic and
Ashkenazi sages toward child marriages. The norm of marrying
off minors was prevalent in all Jewish communities during the
Middle Ages. And this is in accordance with Jewish law which
allows the father to marry off his daughter from the day of her
birth until she reaches maturity at the age of twelve and a half.
However, there was a gap between the communities regarding
the rabbinical leadership’s attitude toward this practice.
While rabbis from the Muslim cultural sphere spoke out against
this phenomenon, the Ashkenazi spiritual leadership supported
it. The Sephardic rejection stemmed from the economic model
of the dowry (mohar), which led to a significant age gap between
groom and bride, and made separation impossible until the mohar
was returned to the groom. As a result, marriage in Sephardic
society was perceived as the subjugation of the woman to her
husband.
In contrast Ashkenazi law allowed a minor groom to marry.
Beyond that the payment of the dowry by the bride’s parents enabled
marriages with closer age proximity and mental compatibility,
and the control over the dowry empowered the bride’s status.
Moreover, the blurring of the distinction between childhood and
adulthood in the Middle Ages made early marriages seem like the
natural order of things. Therefore, in Ashkenazi society, marriage
.was perceived as a step taken for the daughter’s benefit