1,503. Effecting Marriage Based on Partial Information

Hilchos Ishus 8:3

Let’s say that a man tells a woman, “You are consecrated to me on the condition that I am a perfumer” (a fragrant profession) and he turns out to be both a perfumer and a leather worker (the latter being a malodorous profession); “on the condition that I am the resident of a village” and he turns out to be the resident of both a village and a city; or “on the condition that my name is Yoseif” and it turns out that his name is both Yoseif and Shimon – in all of these cases, marriage is effected. However, if he said, “on the condition that my name is only Yoseif” and it turns out that his name is both Yoseif and Shimon; “on the condition that I am only a perfumer” and he turns out to be both a perfumer and a leather worker; “on the condition that I am the resident of a village” and he turns out to be the resident of both a village and a city – in these cases, marriage is not effected.

Hilchos Ishus 8:4

Let’s say that a man tells a woman, “You are consecrated to me on the condition that I know how to read.” In this case, he must know how to read from the Torah and translate according to the Targum Onkelos. If he says “on the condition that I am a reader,” he must know how to read the Torah, Neviim (Prophets) and Kesuvim (Writings) with proper grammar. If he says, “on the condition that I know how to learn Mishna,” he must know how to read Mishna; “on the condition that I am a Tanna,” he must know how to read Mishna, Sifra, Sifri and Tosefta.