Note 454 — Chapter XII · OBLIGATORY CIVIL MARRIAGE IN THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

"Between these two extreme views—that of marriage as merely a civil contract and marriage as a sacrament—stands that of the Jewish law. The act of concluding marriage is there certainly also considered as a contract, which requires the consent of both parties and the performance of certain formalities, similar to other contracts, and which, under certain circumstances, can be dissolved. But, inasmuch as marriage concerns a relation which is based on morality and implies the most sacred duties, it is more than a mere civil contract."—Mielziner, The Jewish Law of Marriage and Divorce, 25, 26. But "the presence of a rabbi or minister is, according to the Talmudic Law, not required at the betrothal or the nuptials. The prescribed benedictions were pronounced either by the bridegroom or by any of the friends present. Such was also the Jewish custom during the Middle Ages."—Ibid., 84. Cf. Amram, The Jewish Law of Divorce, 39.