Child Marriage
In Ashkenazi communities in the Middle Ages, girls were married off very young(12 1/2) because then they would be able to have children in the Jewish community. Some of the rabbis in the Talmud were in favor of having boys marry as soon as they reached the age of majority ( before 20). Those unwilling to marry after the age of twenty were considered cursed by God. Torah study was viewed as a valid reason for delaying marriage, but lifelong celibacy was discouraged. Despite the young threshold for marriage, a large age gap between the spouses was opposed. In modern times, child marriage is extremely rare in the Jewish community; it is banned by law in most countries.
Read more about this topic: Jewish Views On Marriage
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