My boyfriend and I live together but have not got married. We are secular Jews. He is against marriage as an institution. I want to be a mother. My family keep nagging us to get married, saying that if we don’t our child will be a “bastard” according to Jewish law. Is this correct ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 02 May, 2022No ! Where a Jewish couple have the legal capacity to marry according to Jewish law , but choose not to, their children are legitimate Jews and have the same status of children of Jews married in a traditional religious ceremony. What distinguishes children born to unmarried Jewish parents from bastards or “mamzerim” ,in Hebrew, is the legal capacity of their parents to marry. The parents of “mamzerim” lack the legal capacity to marry under Jewish law which forbids their union. “Mamzerim” have inferior status under Jewish law and can only marry other “Mamzerim”.