Dedicated by Lynn Sykes in Loving Memory of Gene Sykes,
devoted husband, father, and uncle
Girlhood
Chinuch: Education
What is chinuch for mitzvot? Who is obligated? At what stage?
Bat Mitzva
What is the halachic significance of bat mitzva? How should it be observed?
Marriage
Marriage I
Concept of Kiddushin
Concept of Kiddushin
What is kiddushin and how does it work? What role does a woman play?
Marriage II
Mitzva & Beracha
Mitzva & Beracha
Is kiddushin a mitzva? What type of beracha is Birkat Eirusin? Who can recite it?
Marriage III
Nissuin
Nissuin
How does nissuin work and what are its implications and attendant obligations?
Marriage IV
The ketuba
The ketuba
What is the ketuba? What are its contents and purpose? What does this mean today?
Marriage V
Sheva Berachot
Sheva Berachot
What are Sheva Berachot and what role do they serve? Who can recite them?
Marriage VI
The Wedding Day
The Wedding Day
What are the halachot and customs of the wedding day? May a couple see each other?
Marriage VII
Before kiddushin
Before kiddushin
What are the customs of the wedding from reception, to bedecken, to processional, to how the chuppa is made?
Marriage VIII
Kiddushin
Kiddushin
What's the role of mesader kiddushin, and who can fulfill it? How is kiddushin conducted in practice? Can the kalla give a ring?
Marriage IX
After Kiddushin
After Kiddushin
How do the later stages of the wedding, from reading the ketuba to yichud, work? What potential roles are there for women?
Physical Intimacy
Physical Intimacy I
Marital Intimacy
Marital Intimacy
What views on physical intimacy are found in our tradition? What's the halachic framework for marital intimacy?
Physical Intimacy II
Boundaries & Touch
Boundaries & Touch
How does Halacha regulate touch, in and out of marriage? What are the halachic underpinnings of shemirat negia?
Physical Intimacy III
Touch in Practice
Touch in Practice
What touch (negia) is permissible between women and men who are prohibited to each other, and in what contexts?
Motherhood
Motherhood I
Procreation
Procreation
What are the blessing and imperative to “be fruitful and multiply”? What are its levels, and how do they apply to women?
Contraception
Contraception I
Intro & Health
Intro & Health
When is contraception permissible? What roles do health considerations play in permissibility?
Contraception II
Family Planning
Family Planning
When is contraceptive use permissible after childbirth? What about after pirya ve-rivya has been fulfilled?
Head-Covering
Head-covering I
Halachic Basis
Halachic Basis
What is the halachic basis for married women’s head-covering?
Head-covering II
Rationale and Meaning
Rationale and Meaning
What explanations for the mitzva of head-covering emerge from the sources?
Head-covering III
Who
Who
Who is obligated to cover her head? When does a bride become obligated?
Head-covering IV
How
How
How much of her head or hair does a woman need to cover? Where do the variations in custom come from?
Head-Covering V
Where
Where
In what settings does the obligation of head-covering apply?
Girlhood
From birth to bat mitzva, how does Halacha shape girls’ lives?
Womanhood
From dating to establishing a room of her own, what halachot are relevant to a single woman?
Communal Roles
What are the implications and halachic standing of different communal roles for women?
Marriage
What are the halachot related to the Jewish wedding, the marital relationship, and divorce?
Motherhood
What are the halachot of conception, contraception, childbirth, nursing, and child-rearing?
The Final Passage
What are the halachot of mourning and bereavement, kaddish, inheritance, and preparing for the end of life?