Yichud
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Deuteronomy 13:6 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Kiddushin 80b and Sandedrin 21 |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Even HaEzer 22 and 24 |
In Jewish religious law (halakha), the laws of yichud (Hebrew: איסור ייחוד issur yichud, prohibition of seclusion) is the prohibition of seclusion in a private area of a man and a woman who are not married to each other. Such seclusion is prohibited in order to prevent the two from being tempted or having the opportunity to commit adulterous or promiscuous acts. A person who is present in order to prevent yichud is called a shomer.
The laws of yichud are typically followed by Orthodox Jews. Adherents of Conservative and Reform Judaism do not generally abide by the laws of yichud.
The term "yichud" also refers to a ritual during an Ashkenazi Jewish wedding in which the newly married couple spends a period secluded in a room by themselves. In earlier historical periods, as early as the talmudic era, the marriage would be consummated at this time, but that practice is no longer current.
Deuteronomy 13:7 says:
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods, gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known...'
Talmud gives an explanation to the passage, which is supposed to be a hint of yichud:
Said R. Johanan on the authority of R. Ishmael, Where do we find an allusion to yihud in the Torah? - For it is written: If thy brother, the son of thy mother, entices thee [etc.]: does then only a mother's son entice, and not a father's son? But it is to tell you: a son may be alone with his mother, but not with any other woman interdicted in the Torah.
Talmud also claims that after the rape of King David's daughter Tamar when she was left alone with her half-brother Amnon, David and his high court extended this prohibition to unmarried girls as well. Later, in the times of Shammai and Hillel, the prohibition was extended to include a non-Jewish woman. These rules are discussed in the Talmud.
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