| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Deuteronomy 13:6 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Kiddushin 80b and Sanhedrin 21 |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Even HaEzer 22 and 24 |
In Jewish religious law (halakha), the laws of yichud (Hebrew: איסור ייחוד, romanized: issur yichud, lit. 'prohibition of seclusion') prohibit seclusion in a private area of a man and a woman who are not married to each other. Such seclusion is prohibited out of fear that sexual intercourse or other, lesser acts may occur. A person who is present in order to prevent yichud is called a shomer.
The laws of yichud are typically followed in strict Orthodox Judaism. Adherents of Conservative and Reform Judaism do not generally abide by the laws of yichud.
The term "yichud" also refers to a ritual during an Ashkenazi Jewish wedding in which the newly married couple spends a period secluded in a room by themselves. In earlier historical periods, as early as the talmudic era,[1] the couple would have sexual intercourse at this time, but that practice is no longer current.
- ^ Abraham P. Bloch, The Biblical and historical background of Jewish customs and ceremonies (KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1980), p. 32.