Halachot and Customs
Is There Merit in Marrying a Niece?
Question
I saw a halacha that there is merit for an uncle to marry his niece as a wife, of course on the condition that she wants to. What is the reason and the merit of this? And why is this halacha not common in our times?
Thank you very much
Answer
Shalom and greetings,
Indeed, it is written in Tractate Yevamot (page 62, end of side B, and page 63 side A) that one who marries his sister’s daughter, Scripture says of him (Isaiah 58:9), "Then you shall call, and Hashem will answer." Rashi explained that just before this it is written (verse 7), "And do not hide yourself from your own flesh," and this also applies to one who marries his sister’s daughter, and by doing so he merits the continuation, "Then you shall call, and Hashem will answer."
Regarding the reason, Rashi wrote: A person feels more affection for his sister than for his brother, and as a result he comes to love his wife. End of quote. According to this, there is no special consideration regarding a brother’s daughter.
The Tosafot there brought a dispute on this point. According to Rashbam, the same applies to a brother’s daughter as well, but the verse mentions a sister because she persuades him with words, and it is common that one marries her daughter. By contrast, Rabbeinu Tam says that the specific reference is to a sister’s daughter because she is in his good fortune, as we say (Bava Batra 110a) that most sons resemble the mother’s brothers.
The view of the Rambam (Laws of Forbidden Relations, chapter 2, halacha 14) is that it is a mitzvah of the Sages for a person to marry his sister’s daughter, and the same applies to a brother’s daughter, as it says, "And do not hide yourself from your own flesh."
The Rema in Even HaEzer (siman 2, section 6) wrote: It is a mitzvah for a person to marry his sister’s daughter. And some say, also a brother’s daughter.
However, in practice, generally people have not acted according to all of the above, in light of what was written in the testament of Rabbi Yehuda HeChassid (letter 22), that one should not marry a brother’s daughter or a sister’s daughter. Likewise, in Sefer Chassidim (siman 477), he counts a person who married his daughter to his wife’s brother among marriages that will not succeed.
Also, many of those who are not particular about the testament of Rabbi Yehuda HeChassid refrain because of a medical concern that the offspring will be malformed (see Halichot Olam, volume 7, page 222).
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
