Rabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("44894")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Talmud">talmud
The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ic assertion: "The Rabbis taught: 'If he fell into a
lionThe Lion is one of four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
's den,
[bring witnesses to] testify [that he is dead], if he fell into a ditch of snakes and scorpions -
[there is] no [need] to testify [that he is dead]'" (Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 121a). In other words, if it is known that the man fell into a ditch of snakes and scorpions and did not come out, it can be assumed that he is dead, and there is no need for further evidence (unlike falling into a lion's den where there is still a slight chance of survival). If, however, it is later discovered that the husband is not dead, the woman will find herself in particularly bad circumstances: her children from her second marriage will be considered
mamzerim (bastards), and she will be forced to divorce both her first and second husbands, subject to the halachic ruling that an adulterous woman "is forbidden to her husband and the man with whom she fornicated". While such situations are extremely rare under normal circumstances, they did occur in the aftermath of the Holocaust and also occurred frequently in the wake of
pogromA pogrom is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious, or other, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes, businesses, and religious centers...
s and other forms of persecution.
Finding a flaw in the marriage ceremony is considered to be a last resort in releasing an
agunah. It is rarely used as it is typically difficult in finding actual cause in most marriages to retroactively invalidate it. In Jewish law, a marriage must be performed in front of two witnesses. In order to release the
agunah, efforts are made to identify reasons why one of the witnesses was ineligible. This is typically unachievable as strong efforts are made at the time of marriage to ensure the validity of the witnesses and the marriage ceremony. Another possibility is to prove that the woman did not consent to the marriage clearly and of her own free will, so that the marriage ceremony is declared invalid. This too is not generally accepted amongst the Halakhic authorities as there is generally no method to disprove intent. It is felt that the purpose of this endeavor is solely or primarily to retroactively delegitimize a marriage that was performed and accepted often many years previously. Annulling the marriage has no impact on the status of the woman's children. However, since it is not a generally accepted mechanism, it may leave the wife susceptible to a halakhic ruling that she was still married, and any subsequent relations with another man to be adultery. And it may lead to other halachic problems, so it is only used as a last resort by the authorities that do accept its use.
Only a woman can be declared an
agunah. None of the prohibitions listed above goes into effect for a man whose wife has disappeared. This is because there is no prohibition in the Torah for a man to have two wives, and a child born to a married man with a single woman is not considered to be a
mamzer. In the beginning of the 11th century, Rabbenu Gershom issued a decree prohibiting Jewish men from practising bigamy (though this was not accepted by certain remote Jewish communities such as the Yemenite Jews). To prevent this decree from causing flippant divorces previously unnecessary, Rabbenu Gershom also decreed that "a woman may not be divorced against her will." In certain extreme circumstances, however, such as the case of a man whose wife is missing, or who refused to accept a
get for an extended period, a
heter meah rabbanimHeter meah rabbanim is a term in Jewish law which means that one hundred Rabbis agree with a Rabbinical court that a particular situation warrants an exemption to permit a man to remarry even though his wife refuses or is unable to accept a get .In about 1000 C.E...
(exemption by one hundred rabbis) may permit him to take a second wife (in the latter case, after depositing a
get with them). This exemption is applied nowadays, only in extremely rare circumstances. Thus, it is not uncommon for a woman to maliciously refuse acceptance of a
get, in effect "chaining" her husband.
In modern and ancient times,
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
fare has been a major cause of women being declared
agunot (plural of
agunah), as (especially in ancient times) soldiers are often killed with no one knowing. Many efforts have been made to resolve this problem in accordance with halachic principles. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, some
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jewish and other
chaplainA chaplain is typically a priest, pastor, ordained deacon, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organised as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons; such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties; lay...
s provided combat soldiers with a "provisional
get", which only goes into effect if the husband is missing in action, leaving his wife an
agunah. This is based on a talmudic explanation of the incident of King David and
BathshebaAccording to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king....
(see
II Samuel 11The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christian Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles.Together with what is now referred to as the Book of Kings,...
). According to one interpretation, David did not sin by lying with a married woman, since all of his soldiers gave a "provisional
get" to their wives before leaving for battle. "Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: 'Everyone who went to war on behalf of David, left a provisional
get for his wife'" (
Talmud BavliThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
,
Tractate ShabbatMoed is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people . Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:# Shabbat: deals with the 39 prohibitions of "work" on the Shabbat...
56a). In the modern state of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate has rejected this proposal, not in the least because of the impact it would have on the morale of the troops.
Mesorevet get / Get refusal
Mesorevet get is a term for a Jewish woman who is chained to her marriage because of her husband's refusal to give her a
get. A
mesorevet get is a "victim of
get refusal," otherwise known as a "modern-day
aguna."
According to halakha, a
get is valid when it is given by a husband to his wife out of his own free will (
Yebamot, 14:1). However, under certain circumstances pressure may be applied on a husband to force him to grant a divorce to his wife. Where a woman has proven one or more of a list of particular grounds for divorce, the rabbinical court (
beth dinA beth din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Land of Israel...
) may apply pressure on the husband in those situations (
Ketubot, 7:10;
Gittin, 9:8). There are some halakhic decisors who would act accordingly in the cases of abuse or neglect (
Shulchan AruchThe Shulchan Aruch is a codification, or written manual, of halacha , composed by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century...
, Even HaEzer, 154:3). Nevertheless, not under all circumstances is a wife entitled to demand a divorce according to halakha. If a wife who is not halakhically entitled to a divorce does demand one, she may not be considered as a
mesorevet get by a Rabbinical Court. However, not any woman who wants to leave an unwanted marriage but is refused by her husband, is considered to be a victim of
get refusal. There are opinions that deem a woman's repugnance for her husband as acceptable halakhic grounds for coercion (
Rambam, Mishna Torah, Hilchot Ishut, 14:8). "It is said: In cases of granting a
get to a woman, the man is forced until he says, 'I wish to do so'" (Babylonian
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
,
Arachin 21a;
Rambam, Mishna Torah, Hilchot Gerushin, 2:2). Nevertheless, in almost all cases, it is required to leave the man some say in the matter, lest the
get be considered a "coerced divorce", which is halachically invalid. As ruled by
Rabbeinu TamJacob ben Meir, universally known as Rabbenu Tam was one of the Baalei Tosafot whose commentary appears in every edition of Talmud opposite the commentary of Rashi...
(
Sefer HaYashar, Response 24;
Rema, Even HaEzer 154:21), pressures that can be exerted against the man include
shunningShunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. It is a sanction against association often associated with religious groups and other tightly-knit organizations and communities...
, denying him communal benefits and honors, and in extreme cases even imprisonment. Legend has it that as a last resort where all else has failed, a tactic has been sparingly used in the past, to let him spend a night near a nameless grave, or to frighten him in some other way. In Israel, rabbinical courts are allowed by law to implement various measures to persuade a man to grant his wife a
get (Rabbinical Courts Law [Enforcement of Divorce Rulings] 5755-1995). These sanctions are a modern day version of the aforementioned,
Harchakot D'Rabeinu Tam, which include: revoking of a driver's license, closing of bank accounts, revoking professional licenses such as medical and legal, cancellation of a passport, and incarceration. Practically, one of the most effective of these has turned out to be revoking a recalcitrant husband's driver's license. Even so, neither the laws nor the Israeli Rabbinical Courts' enforcement, or lack thereof, have succeeded in erasing the blight of
get refusal within Israeli society. In the Diaspora, the Rabbinical Courts have no such powers. Any practical power that they may wield would be the product of a binding arbitration agreement (
Prenuptial Agreement for the Prevention of Get-RefusalPrenuptial agreements for the prevention of get-refusal were developed over the last century to answer a need that arose within Jewish marriages. The contemporary situation is that of general inability to dissolve a Jewish marriage without the agreement and cooperation of both spouses. This...
), if signed previously by the combating couple. Within the past decade, both Orthodox rabbinical groups and women's organizations have decried the increasing number of cases of
get refusal, as well as establishing task forces to deal with the issue and to help individual victims of
get refusal.
Activism
Many women's groups feel that rabbinical courts fail to use all the measures at their disposal to force men to grant their wives a
get, thereby allowing a vengeful husband to blackmail his wife for years. Public criticism of the courts, as well as demonstrations, have been attempted to influence particularly notorious cases.
Several solutions have been proposed to help women who are denied a
get:
- Increasing the means available to the rabbinic courts to force husbands to grant their wives a get. In Israel, rabbinic courts can even imprison a husband until he acquiesces and grants a get to his wife. This is not, however, an option for rabbinic courts elsewhere, since they do not have the support of the state.
- Having couples sign a Prenuptial Agreement for the Prevention of Get-Refusal
Prenuptial agreements for the prevention of get-refusal were developed over the last century to answer a need that arose within Jewish marriages. The contemporary situation is that of general inability to dissolve a Jewish marriage without the agreement and cooperation of both spouses. This...
, which requires the husband to pay high spousal support to his wife if he denies her a get, so as to provide incentive to the couple not to delay the divorce. Halakhic authorities in the United States have validated particular prenuptial agreements for the prevention of get-refusal.http://www.ocweb.org/index.php/pre_nuptial
- Having couples prepare a "provisional get," which will only go into effect under certain predefined circumstances.
- Having couples agree to a "conditional marriage," which includes a stipulation in the marriage ceremony citing that under certain conditions (such as living apart for an extended period of time), the marriage itself would be nulified with no need for a get.
In 2004, Justice Menachem HaCohen of the
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
Family Court offered new hope to
agunot when he ruled that a man refusing his wife a
get must pay her NIS 425,000 in punitive damages, because "[R]efusal to grant a
get constitutes a severe infringement on her ability to lead a reasonable, normal life, and can be considered emotional abuse lasting several years." He noted that "[T]his is not another sanction against someone refusing to give a
get, intended to speed up the process of granting a
get, and this court is not involving itself in any future arrangements for the granting of a
get, but rather, it is a direct response to the consequences that stem from not granting a
get, and the right of the woman to receive punitive damages."
In 2007, an Israeli survey revealed that there only 180 cases of refusing-get husbands including 69 documented agunah cases. In contrast, there are 190 cases in which the wife refuses to give the husband a divorce.
Outside Israel, an
agunah could obtain a
civil marriageCivil marriage or secular marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-Civil marriage history:...
, as legal systems generally do not recognise the
agunah status. Nevertheless, as she would be in violation of
halakha by doing so, religiously committed women are reluctant to take this step. Moreover, her children from the second would be considered
mamzerim.
Conservative Judaism and the agunah
Conservative Judaism has sought to remedy such cases by attaching a clause to the
ketuba, known as the
Lieberman clauseA Lieberman clause is a clause included in a ketubah, named after Talmudic scholar Saul Lieberman, that stipulates that divorce will be adjudicated by a modern Bet Din in order to prevent the problem of the agunah....
, in which the parties agree that if there are civil divorce proceedings, then both must appear before a beit din of the
Rabbinical AssemblyThe Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
and of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism.The Jewish Theological Seminary operates five schools: Albert A...
. Rabbi
Saul LiebermanSaul Lieberman , also known as Rabbi Shaul Lieberman or The Gra"sh , was a rabbi and a scholar of Talmud...
, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, proposed that the clause be added to ketubas to create a legal remedy through civil courts in case one party fails to cooperate in Jewish divorce proceedings.
Orthodox Judaism has rejected the Lieberman clause as a violation of Jewish law. The Orthodox rabbinate argued that an agreement to pay a non-specified amount of money is an
asmachtaIn Jewish law, an Asmachta is a conditional commitment or promise that a person makes, but actually has no intention of keeping. The agreement is not considered binding, and the commitment is considered null and void....
, and not
halakhicallyHalakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
valid.
In practice, women who have been unable to obtain a get have not always been successful in enforcing the Lieberman clause in U.S. state courts, which have jurisdiction in divorce cases. Several state courts have refused to accept cases based on the Lieberman clause because, according to them, it violates the constitutional principle of
separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent from each other...
.
Zika le-Yibbum
A related case is that of a woman whose husband has died childless: in such a situation, the husband's brother is required by Jewish law to enter into a
levirate marriageYibbum , or levirate marriage, in Judaism, is one of the most complex types of marriages mandated by Torah law . According to the law, the brother of a man who died without children has an obligation to marry the widow...
with the widow so as to have children with her in the name of the deceased. The brother can refuse to do yibbum and instead perform a ceremony known as chalitza to release her from her bond to him (in modern times
chalitza is nearly always performed instead of
yibbum). If the brother is missing, or if he is still a child, the woman is required to wait until he is located or has reached
adolescenceIn Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah is a boy, and a Bat Mitzvah a girl, who has gone through what is in some respects a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony. The terms also commonly refer to the ceremony itself, which normally takes place when the child has turned 13 .* Bar Mitzvah In Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah is a...
so that he can perform the
chalitza ceremony. There have been recorded cases of the husband's brother trying to blackmail the widow by delaying the
chalitza ceremony, effectively leaving her as an
agunah.
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