Abstract:

Within the western Sephardic diaspora, Jewish communities remained, in principle, faithful to their family ties and took measures to protect the family and its prerogatives, in an effort to preserve cohesiveness. Marriages with non-Sephardic Jews were condemned and interclass marriages were discouraged. These attitudes intensified in the 17th and 18th centuries. The most acute problem was clandestine marriages flouting traditional norms. Such unions were seen as a threat to the stability of the social fabric. Parents and rabbis alike claimed the right to legitimize marriages by giving their consent.

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