Yichud

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Halakhic sources
Note: Not meant as a definitive ruling. Some observances may be rabbinical, or customs, or Torah based.
Texts in Jewish law relating to this article:
Bible:	Leviticus 18:6
Mishnah:
Babylonian Talmud:	Kiddushin 80b and Sandedrin 21
Jerusalem Talmud:
Mishneh Torah:
Shulkhan Arukh:	Even HaEzer 22 and 24

Yichud (Hebrew:ייחוד) in Halakha (Jewish religious laws) refer to forbidden seclusion between a man and a woman, who are not married to each other, in a closed room or a private area. This prohibition is to prevent the two from coming to sin.

1 Source of the law
2 Laws of Yichud
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Source of the law

There is a Biblical prohibition against a man being alone with a married woman or a woman who is a Niddah. King David and his high court extended this prohibition to unmarried girls who are ritually pure after the rape of David's daughter Tamar when she was left alone with a man<ref>Shulkhan Arukh Even HaEzer 22,2</ref>

These rules are discussed in the Talmud (Tractate Kiddushin 80b ff) and (Tractate Sanhedrin 21).

[edit] Laws of Yichud

There is no prohibition against close family members or a married couple being alone together. However, siblings of opposite sexes should not live together on a permanent basis.

Yichud also is part of the Askenazic Jewish wedding ceremony. The newly married couple publicly seclude themselves in a closed room for several minutes.