Tel Aviv – In a groundbreaking ruling, the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court had the final say in the divorce case of a Jewish American couple that has dragged on for six years, as the husband has refused to grant his wife a get (Jewish divorce).
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After three nights in jail and a ban preventing him from leaving the country, however, the wanton husband – who is not an Israeli citizen – finally succumbed to the demands of the Rabbinic Court Administration (RCA) and agreed to free his wife from their marriage. It was the first time that Israel’s religious court system has ever flexed its muscles in a case involving Jews from abroad.
“This is the first time that the Rabbinic Court Administration has imposed such sanctions on a person who is not a citizen of Israel,” said a spokeswoman for the RCA, adding that the husband had “never really believed that the religious courts had this power, because he is not a citizen of this country.”
She explained that a change in legislation three years ago gave the RCA jurisdiction over cases involving Jews residing here who are not citizens.
The man had been traveling back and forth between Israel and the US for the past two years, and therefore, under Israeli law, had established Israel as the center of his life.
Just over a year ago, the wife petitioned the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court, asking the administration to impose sanctions on her husband to obtain a get. The RCA then began the standard process of demands on husbands who refuse to agree to a divorce.
At first he was asked to pay bail to the court to prove that he would stay in the country and show up for his hearings. When he refused, the court imposed a ban preventing him from leaving the country.
Later, when the husband still did not agree to take the court’s requests seriously, the presiding judge had him arrested, and he spent three days in jail.
That’s when the husband finally came to a hearing in the court and agreed to grant his wife a divorce.
Is such a get valid. If I recall right a forced divorced is not according to halacha
Is this a get meusha (a coerced get)?
I’m amazed…moishiach must be on the way…I cannot believe that a rabbinical court in EY finally would treat these dreche menchen who refuse to grant their wives gittin as common criminals engaged in extortion and treat them accordingly. Kol Hakovod to the dayanim of the Tel Aviv court.
To those who will say such a get is invalid because it was coerced, I would say, you should live in the kind of genhenom that such men create for their wives and children who they hold hostage.
Anyone know who this is ? is it finally the one from Monsey??
No, it’s not a get meusha. A get meusha is when you put a gun to his head. Here, he had the option of sitting in jail and was therefore not forced to give it.
It’s high time that today’s Rabbis make some changes to the law that keeps many woman hostage – some needing to forgo child support, and pay lots of money to get their freedom. It is so upsetting that the Rabbis have not done anything as of yet to fix this BIG problem. It is laws like these that make the jewish religion look outdated and abusive – Rabbis are known to have “added” to torah law to make it apply to today’s times – this is one area that we better hurry up and fix before it causes more damage.
Yes a forced get is allowed by halacha
3 and 4: how would you explain the rambam that the court may beat the husband within an inch of his life until he says “rotzeh ani”?
He was not forced. He couldve easily stayed in jail and gotten free food and not have given a get. He was in no danger at all.
Let’s be dan l’kaf zechus that after 72 hours of deep thinking he saw the light and did what’s right.
As someone that gave a Get straight away to a horrible women, I will say that women work the court system in the US to the max and pleading that they are innocent and merely victims is narishkeit.
mazel tov!!! mazel tov!!!!
once we all do more to help agunos, mashiach will for sure be on his way!!!
my best friend is suffering like this! its horrible!!
we must must must do more for these women! if the marriage didn’t work why can’t these men just leave and move on and let the wife move on too?
I once heard, Koifin oiso ad shoimer roitze ani, a yids neshomo really wants to do whats right. Some times it takes a lot of pain for someone to realize that it was his yetzer hora or the soton.
As someone involved with gitin I was personally involved in this case till the last minute, I would like to state that this article is grossly flawed, this is a case where the husband has attempted numerous times to conclude this story for the past few years, but because of resistance from the wifes side, this story never came to an end, therefore leaving the husband a ogon and not the wife an aguna.
The husband was not convinced or forced to give a gett, the bais din initially arrested the husband before knowing the story because he was not represented with a toen or lawyer and wifes lawyer came with false claims that husband is evading giving a gett, husband was released by the bagatz 2 days (not 3 days) later, then Rabbi Domb did intensive and thorough investigation came to a conclusion that husband is not the one evading the gett but the wife is the one refusing to come to normal agreement.
Rabbi Domb also realized that wifes father is the one who for personal reasons wants to destroy husband and therefore is ready to slaughter his daughter in order to kill her husband, ordered the father out of the room and convinced wife that husband is not extorting her and the agreement he wanted her to sign is very reasonable, and minutes after she signed agreement husband happily gave a gett, and Bais Din apologized to husband and admitted that they should of done more investigation before sending a innocent man to prison.
One more note the Bais Din never came to any conclusion about the gett or if they have the authority to rule on this case, it was only the profesianlisim of Rabbi Domb that finally looked at the case with open eyes, and concluded this case outside of court on his own time.
amhuratzim!!!
it is a serious question, even INDIRECT force is a serious machlokes rishonim!
only in certain circumstances is force allowed . in other cases not condoned by halacha , any force might make it possul and aishes ish d’oraisa
there surely can be controversy about this p’sak
Great news! now all resho’im and extortionists take the lesson, and stop torturing your wives by withholding a get.
the get IS called forced cause he was held with force in jail without his will and staying in jail is NOT an option that anyone would choose
I feel bad for this women and especialy her new husband because she will go on and marry someone with a questionable Get and her kids will be….
I heard of a story like this where a man was held in israel he had a stay order from the court they have gitten laws where they can keep you there, even if he is not israeli citizen when he came back to the US the rabbis questioned about the get explaining to him that if he was held in the country against his will and gave a get just to be able to leave the country then the get is NOT OK
in this case he was happy to get rid of the wife and still the rabbis felt that it might be better for them to redo the get here without pressure
each case is diffrent in NY court the judge can also demand the husband give a get
before they rule on devorce cause when they give the devorce ruling the wife has to be totally free from her husband
that is why the bad guys who want to torture there wife flee from NY to LA or other places where they can give a devorce without a get!
but i dont know the halucha if the court forces a guy to give the get if its any good??
Any idiot who thinks that this is a get meusa has proven that he has not opened a gemara gitten.
The opposition to the get law was only because it circumvented Beis Din.
This was done under the auspices of the Beis Din.
It is refrshing to see all of the Talmidei Chachomim on this site who feel qualified to comment and question the Rabbonim who are working to free these women. There is never a justification to hold a woman hostage. I think we should all invest our time learning instead of reading VIN. I am outta here.
Chevrah, this should be a lesson to all of us.
Make sure the bochur who wants to marry your daughter is looking for a wife and not a housekeeper, a wife and not a slave, a wife and not a shmatteh and most importantly, a wife and not a Mommy.
when hasm gave the toarha the medrash says a mountain was put on top of the yidden …we have a chazakah a person wants to do the right thing..
They should do this more often, he should be glad that they didn’t need to follow chazal and make him do the right thing.
The facts of this case is.
This specific Get was very simple, the husband simply wanted to get simple visitation rights, which he has been going thru hell getting arrested every time he tried with different excuses. (the ones that unfortunately are way to common)
Then they stole & sold his house & got (thru a fraud letter from a so called Rav that was trying to blackmail him) a court ruling that he has to pay Child support $100k a year!!
It’s needless to say that being a plain worker like the husband who barely could’ve made $50k a year it’s impossible
So having no choice with an arrest warrant on his head, he escaped to Israel.
So now at the first fear din torah ever the husband got payment for the house that was stolen from him, and got a fear ruling suiting the specific case, and therefore had no problem giving the Get he was so wanting to give for 6 years.
A friend knowing the FACTS
Normal, decent husbands don’t get their wives so angry that they are out for blood in a divorce.
I have had the misfortune to meet a few of these guys who are holding out on gittin.
They have a few things in common:
1. They can talk to you in learning about hilchos gittin. Nothing else. And even that not very well when you get into halachah lemaisah.
2. They are all fighting for the sake of klal yisroel.
3. They all give me the creeps.
4. None of them stand a chance of getting another shidduch.
5. None of them should ever have gotten married.
6. They are all lo yutzlochs and are ready to tell ou what every other person but themselves did to make them lo yutzlochs.
7. I wouldn’t leave any of them alone in a room with my wife, my kids, my money, my lawn mower or my pet hamster. (Like I said, they all give me the creeps.
in 100% of cases which a prenuptial agreement was written a get was deleivered in a timly fashion…