1,520. Consummating the Marriage

Hilchos Ishus 9:31

If one witness testifies that a woman has been consecrated but the woman says that she hasn’t, she is permitted to marry others. If one witness testifies that she has been consecrated but another witness says that she hasn’t, she may not marry others but if she does marry someone else, the union need not be dissolved because the woman is saying that she was not previously consecrated. Let’s say that a woman says that she has been consecrated but then she subsequently accepts kiddushin from someone else. If she can satisfactorily explain to the court why she said she was consecrated, she is permitted to the second man but if she cannot, then she is prohibited to him. Nevertheless, this second man must give her a get and she is prohibited to him and to everyone else until she resolves her consecration by the first man. The same is true when a woman comes to town and says that she’s married but subsequently says that she is unmarried. If she can satisfactorily explain her change in story to the court, then we take her word for it.

Hilchos Ishus 10:1

By rabbinic enactment, a betrothed woman may not engage in marital relations with her husband so long as she is still in her father’s house. If a man has relations with his betrothed who is still in her father’s home, he is lashed for acting rebelliously. This is so even if he consecrated her through marital relations; he may not engage in such intimacy again until he brings her into his home and is secluded with her, thereby designating her as his wife. This seclusion is referred to as “chuppah” and this stage of the marriage process is called “nisuin.” If a man has relations with his betrothed in order to effect nisuin after consecrating her, their relationship is cemented at the commencement of the act. At this point, she is considered his wife in every regard.