May the One Ring be used to be mekadesh a woman?
At least from one perspective, the Ring seems ideal, given the verse:
אַשׁ נַזְגּ דֻּרְבַּתֻּלֻקּ, אַשׁ נַזְגּ גִּמְבַּתֻּלּ , אַשׁ נַזְגּ ת׳רַקַתֻּלֻקּ, אַג בֻּרְזֻם אִשִׁי ק׳רִמְבַּתֻּלּ׃
… One Ring to bring them all and … bind them.
(Chaburas HaTaba‘as I, perek 2)
This implies that the Ring is ideal for creating the bond of husband and wife. Is this reasoning correct?
Answer
The first question to be resolved is whether the Ring is שווה פרוטה shavah p’rutah; but the repeated description of the Ring as “precious” indicates that it would be.
There is a minhag that the ring used for kiddushin be without pattern. Since the Ring’s inscription is only visible when it is heated, it would be preferable not to put the Ring in fire immediately before the ceremony. (Not heating the ring before kiddushin is actually a more general rule, a takanah instituted מפני מעשה שהיה.)
An objection can be raised from the halachah of כל העומד לשרוף כשרוף דמי, an object which must be destroyed has the status of already destroyed. But we know there is a dispute as to the necessity of destroying the Ring, so our discussion can rely on the opinion of ר׳ ברומיר בר דנתור who held it should be used and not destroyed.
There is a more severe problem though. In Kiddushin 41a, Rav Yehudah quotes this ruling from Rav: “אסור לאדם לקדש אשה עד שיראנה A man is forbidden from betrothing a woman he cannot see.” Since the One Ring produces invisibility, it may not be used for kiddushin.
(See also the discussion at One Ring to Bind Them: A Halachic Inquiry on the Occasion of Purim 5775 where a different answer is offered.)
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