Family Law and the Challenge of Modernity: Debate about Levirate Marriage among Moroccan Sages

Abstract

The present study examines how in the second half of the 20th century Moroccan sages, in Morocco and in Israel, coped with the challenges posed by modernity to the continued practice of levirate marriage, as it had been common for many generations in their communities. I analyze the positions of the sages in Morocco, including the various factions present they belonged to and the relationships between them; I discuss the influence of legislation enacted in the State of Israel in the area of levirate marriage on the state of affairs in Morocco, and compare the arrangements in the two countries; I explain the changing attitudes of several of the Moroccan sages toward the Israeli legislation following their immigration to Israel and their encounter with R. Ovadia Yossef, who struggled to bring back the old glory of levirate marriage.