[Avodah] Kiddushin and Nisuin

[Harry Maryles]

Asked this of ChatGPT as well.   Got the following in seconds (again - can't vouch for its accuracy):

Background
   
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In biblical and early rabbinic times, kiddushin (erusin) and nisuin were two separate stages, often months apart.
      
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Kiddushin created a formal bond of betrothal, prohibiting the woman to others but not yet permitting marital life.

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Nisuin (through chuppah or bringing the bride into the husband’s home) completed the marriage, permitting full marital relations.



When They Were Consolidated
   
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Already in Talmudic times it was clear that the stages were distinct (see Kiddushin 2a–3a).

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However, by the Geonic period (roughly 7th–11th centuries CE), the practice began to consolidate.

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The Rambam (Hil. Ishut 10:1–2) describes erusin and nisuin as conceptually separate, but notes that minhag had shifted to perform them together under the chuppah.

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The Tur (Even HaEzer 55) and Shulchan Aruch (EH 55:1) codify the minhag: “In our times, we do not perform kiddushin unless nisuin follows immediately.”

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The reason: leaving a gap between betrothal and marriage created risks of immorality, uncertainty, and agunah-type complications. Therefore, communities instituted that both stages be performed together.


References
   
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Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 2a–3a – distinction between erusin and nisuin.

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Rambam, Hilkhot Ishut 10:1–2 – records both stages but notes current practice of combining.

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Tur, Even HaEzer 55 – states that in his time kiddushin and nisuin were no longer separated.

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Shulchan Aruch, EH 55:1 – codifies the consolidated practice.

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Encyclopaedia Judaica, s.v. Marriage – historical overview, noting the Geonic period as the turning point.

✅ In short: Kiddushin and nisuin were originally distinct and often separated by time; by the Geonic era, Jewish communities increasingly consolidated them, and by the time of the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, it was the universal custom that both happen together under the chuppah.
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    On Sunday, August 17, 2025 at 11:15:51 PM CDT, Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer via Avodah <avodah at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:  
 
   
I was asked twice this past week and didn't know the answer.
 
Does anyone have knowledge and, preferably a reference, as to when kiddushin and nisuin were consolidated?
 

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