The Life-Cycle • Deracheha

Dedicated by Lynn Sykes in Loving Memory of Gene Sykes, devoted husband, father, and uncle

Girlhood

What is chinuch for mitzvot? Who is obligated? At what stage?

What is the halachic significance of bat mitzva? How should it be observed?

What is kiddushin and how does it work? What role does a woman play?

Is kiddushin a mitzva? What type of beracha is Birkat Eirusin? Who can recite it?

How does nissuin work and what are its implications and attendant obligations?

What is the ketuba? What are its contents and purpose? What does this mean today?

What are Sheva Berachot and what role do they serve? Who can recite them?

What are the halachot and customs of the wedding day? May a couple see each other?

What are the customs of the wedding from reception, to bedecken, to processional, to how the chuppa is made?

What is the halachic basis for married women’s head-covering?

What explanations for the mitzva of head-covering emerge from the sources?

Who is obligated to cover her head? When does a bride become obligated?

How much of her head or hair does a woman need to cover? Where do the variations in custom come from?

In what settings does the obligation of head-covering apply?

From birth to bat mitzva, how does Halacha shape girls’ lives?

From dating to establishing a room of her own, what halachot are relevant to a single woman?

What are the implications and halachic standing of different communal roles for women?

What are the halachot related to the Jewish wedding, the marital relationship, and divorce?

What are the halachot of conception, contraception, childbirth, nursing, and child-rearing?

What are the halachot of mourning and bereavement, kaddish, inheritance, and preparing for the end of life?