Israeli and American Jews should fix their sexist divorce laws before talking about the ills of Sharia

I Oppose BOTH Shaira Law & Halacha Law!

Israel is not a Secular State as many claim, it is a Jewish State with “creeping Halacha” or encroaching Jewish law. There is no secular constitution in Israel to protect Jews and non-Jews from Halacha (Jewish law). One area where the misanthropic effects of Halacha law are most prominently seen today is in Israel’s sexist divorce laws.  According to the Talmud, a women cannot obtain a divorce without written permission from her husband (a document called a “get”); yet men can divorce women anytime they please by simply handing them their divorce note, even doing it secretly while the woman is sleeping or throwing it at her in public. Even women who are abused or abandoned cannot obtain a divorce without their husband’s permission and thus they become stuck in abusive marriages they cannot escape.  To make matters worse, Jewish men can avoid paying a women’s  kethubah  (a wife’s marriage settlement which she is entitled to recover on her being divorced or on the death of her husband) by simply humiliating her in a courtroom by describing her “physical deformities” – according to Halacha law, a woman is not entitled to her kethubah if she has moles, bad breath, scars from a dog bite, if her breasts are too far apart, if she sweats too much, or if she screams in pain during sex.  Similar misanthropic and sexist antics take place in America’s Beth Din courts (which are designated by Israel) where many Orthodox Jews feel pressured to conform to community standards and follow Halacha rulings rather than obtain a divorce in a secular court.  These religious laws open the way for Rabbis to exploit these women, extorting them for money to then beat and torture their husbands until they provide the women with their religious divorce.  

EXAMPLES OF MODERN DAY VICTIMS OF SEXIST DIVORCE RULING IN ISRAEL 

Stuck Paying Husbands Debts And Cannot Remarry

After four years of marriage, Tamar Tessler filed for divorce, taking her infant daughter and embarking on what she hoped would be a new chapter of her life. Today that daughter is 36 years old — and Tessler is still awaiting the divorce. 

Her husband long ago moved to America, said the 61-year-old retired nurse. But under Israeli law, she remains trapped in a defunct marriage that her husband won’t allow to end. She can’t legally remarry, was obligated as his spouse to repay some of his debts, and lost out on tax breaks for single mothers even though she raised their daughter alone. 

Tessler is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Israeli women caught in legal and social limbo because of a law that leaves matters of divorce for all Jewish citizens in the hands of a government-funded religious court. (READ MORE @ LA TIMES)

Legal Limbo for Wives

An article carried by the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California in 2002 tells how the Talmud divorce laws are playing out in contemporary America. As you read, remember that the women who suffer live on American soil.

NEW YORK — An international grass-roots organization has won the backing of major Orthodox rabbis and organizations around the world to help ease the plight of women whose husbands refuse them a Jewish divorce. Jews who live according to halachah (Jewish law) require a get to dissolve their marriages. Only a man can give a get, and some husbands withhold them out of vindictiveness or to extort financial or custody settlements. The issue has long-rankled many in the Orthodox world because of the impact on women, some of whom are trying to escape abusive relationships. Women denied gets are forbidden from remarrying or even dating, and are called agunot, which means “chained women.” (Jewish Bulletin of Northern California)

Some husbands use a legal device that enables them to be remarried while holding their wives in marital limbo

One of the biggest loopholes that has been used recently to block women from obtaining gets is the heter me’ah rabbonim, which literally means “exception of 100 rabbis.” Under the heter, a man who obtains 100 signatures from rabbis can withhold a get from his wife, but still remarry. Initially intended to be used when a wife is incapacitated, the practice has been widely abused in recent years, Klein said. ”There are people who are selling heter meah rabbonim and women who are not being given the right of getting this get.” People have been known to obtain the signatures by going to yeshivas in Israel, where no one knows the parties involved, and misleading young rabbis into believing the heter is justified. ”The bottom line is they’re keeping a wife chained as an agunah while freeing the husband,” Klein said. (Jewish Bulletin of Northern California)

AMERICAN BEN DIN COURTS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE OF ISRAEL 

According to The West Coast Rabbinical Court – Beth Din of Beverly Hills:

The Rabbinical Court of California and the West Coast, headed by HaRav Gavriel Cohen is authorized to handle all matters of Jewish religious law, and isdesignated by the State of Israel to serve the western United States, Canada, Mexico and the Far East in matters of Halacha (Jewish law). 

All traditional services of the Beit Din are available from competent and compassionate legal authorities. The validity of decisions and decrees of the Beit Din have been upheld by the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, and are recognized by both Ashkenazi and Sephardic leaders. (The West Coast Rabbinical Court – Beth Din of Beverly Hills)

MEN CAN DIVORCE WOMEN AT ANY JUST BY HANDING THEM A NOTE  CALLED A “GET”, THIS CAN BE DONE IN SECRET OR THE “GET” CAN BE THROWN AT HER 

 When a husband wishes to divorce his wife, he must serve her with a document called a Get. The Tractate Gittin enumerates unusual but legitimate methods for delivering the Get.

The Get May Be Delivered While The Wife Sleeps…

 MISHNAH. IF HE SAID TO HER, TAKE THAT BOND, OR IF SHE FOUND IT BEHIND HIM AND READ IT AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE HER GET, IT IS NO GET, UNTIL HE SAYS TO HER, THERE IS YOUR GET. IF HE PUT IT INTO HER HAND WHILE SHE WAS ASLEEP AND WHEN SHE WOKE UP SHE READ IT AND FOUND IT WAS HER GET, IT IS NO GET UNTIL HE SAYS TO HER, THAT IS YOUR GET. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Gittin 78a)

The Get May Be Thrown At The Wife From A Roof Or Up To A Roof…

MISHNAH. IF SHE WAS STANDING ON A ROOF AND HE THREW IT UP TO HER, AS SOON AS IT REACHES THE AIRSPACE OF THE ROOF, SHE IS DIVORCED. IF HE WAS ABOVE AND SHE BELOW AND HE THREW IT TO HER, ONCE IT HAS LEFT THE SPACE OF THE ROOF, EVEN THOUGH [IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS] THE WRITING WAS EFFACED1 OR IT WAS BURNT,2 SHE IS DIVORCED. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Gittin 79a)

A Get May Be Thrown At A Wife In Public…

A man may throw the Get at his wife. Depending on where it lands, the couple may or may not be divorced. If it lands nearer to her, they are divorced. If it lands nearer to him, they are not divorced. If it lands halfway between them, they are both divorced and not divorced.

MISHNAH. IF SHE WAS STANDING ON PUBLIC GROUND AND HE THREW IT TO HER, IF IT LANDS NEARER TO HER SHE IS DIVORCED, BUT IF IT LANDS NEARER TO HIM SHE IS NOT DIVORCED. IF IT LANDS MIDWAY, SHE IS DIVORCED AND NOT DIVORCED. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Gittin 78a)

A WOMEN CAN BE DENIED HER “KETHUBAH” (DIVORCE SETTLEMENT) IF HER HUSBAND HUMILIATES HER BY DESCRIBING HER PHYSICAL DEFORMITIES

No Kethubah for Bodily Defects…

Despite the protection of the kethubah, it is relatively easy for a husband to get rid of a wife without paying. Physical defects can justify her being divorced without receiving kethubah.

MISHNAH. … [IF A WOMAN WAS BETROTHED] ON CONDITION THAT SHE HAS NO BODILY DEFECTS, AND SHE WAS FOUND TO HAVE SUCH DEFECTS, HER BETROTHAL IS INVALID. IF HE MARRIED HER WITHOUT MAKING ANY CONDITIONS AND SHE WAS FOUND TO HAVE BODILY DEFECTS, SHE MAY BE DIVORCED WITHOUT A KETHUBAH. ALL DEFECTS WHICH DISQUALIFY PRIESTS (30) DISQUALIFY WOMEN ALSO. (31) (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 72b) 

Rev. Dr. Israel W. Slotki, Talmud scholar and translator of this section of the Tractate Kethuboth, amplifies the text with these footnotes: 

FOOTNOTE 30: From the Temple service (cf. Lev. XXI, 17ff).FOOTNOTE 31: From marriage. If such a woman married she may be divorced without a kethubah.

Bad Breath, Perspiration, Moles…

The Sages go on to discuss this Mishnah in the following Gemara, and expand the legal rulings. Other physical defects that can deny a wife her kethubah include excessive perspiration and bad breath. I have omitted the footnotes in the following. To study them, please follow the link at the end of the excerpt.

GEMARA. … ALL DEFECTS WHICH DISQUALIFY etc. A Tanna taught: To these were added [excessive] perspiration, a mole and offensive breath. Do these, then, not cause a disqualification in respect of priests? Surely we have learned, ‘The old, the sick and the filthy’ and we have also learned, ‘These defects whether permanent or transitory, render human beings unfit [for the Temple service]! — R. Jose b. Hanina replied: This is no contradiction. The former refers to perspiration that can be removed; the latter, to perspiration that cannot be removed. 

R. Ashi said [in reply]: You are pointing out a contradiction between ‘perspiration’ and ‘one who is filthy’ [which in fact are not alike, for] there, in the case of priests, it is possible to remove the perspiration by the aid of sour wine, and it is also possible [to remove] an offensive breath by holding pepper in one’s mouth and thus performing the Temple service, but in the case of a wife [such devices are for all practical purposes] impossible. 

What kind of a mole is here meant? If one overgrown with hair, it would cause disqualification in both cases; if one with no hair, [then, again], if it is a large one it causes disqualification in both cases and if it is a small one it causes no disqualification in either; for it was taught: A mole which is overgrown with hair is regarded as a bodily defect; if with no hair it is only deemed to be a bodily defect when large but when small it is no defect; and what is meant by large? R. Simeon b. Gamaliel explained: The size of an Italian issar! — R. Jose the son of R. Hanina said: One which is situated on her forehead. [If it was on] her forehead he must have seen it and acquiesced! — R. Papa replied: It is one that was situated under her bonnet and is sometimes exposed and sometimes not. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 75a)

Scars from Dog Bites, a Harsh Voice…

Scars from dog bites and a harsh voice can also trigger the divorce of a wife without her kethubah.

GEMARA. … R. Hisda said: I heard the following statement from a great man (And who is he? R. Shila). If a dog bit her and the spot of the bite turned into a scar [such a scar] is considered a bodily defect. R. Hisda further stated: A harsh voice in a woman is a bodily defect; since it is said in Scripture, For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 75a)

Breasts Too Far Apart…

Having breasts too far apart can trigger the divorce of a woman without her kethubah.

GEMARA. … R. Nathan of Bira learnt: [The space] of one handbreadth between a woman’s breasts. R. Aha the son of Raba intended to explain in the presence of R. Ashi [that this statement meant that '[the space of] a handbreadth’ is to [a woman's] advantage, but R. Ashi said to him: This was taught in connection with bodily defects. And what space [is deemed normal]? Abaye replied: [A space of] three fingers. 

It was taught: R. Nathan said, It is a bodily defect if a woman’s breasts are bigger than those of others. By how much? — R. Meyasha the grandson of R. Joshua b. Levi replied in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: By one handbreadth. Is such a deformity, however, possible? — Yes; for Rabbah b. Bar Hana related, I saw an Arab woman who flung her breasts over her back and nursed her child. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 75a)

Groom Should Have Inspected…

The Sages argue about the relative responsibilities of the father and the groom for a bride’s imperfections. Some argue he should have had his female relatives inspect the betrothed woman’s body in a local bath-house before he made his deal with the father. The woman’s body is compared to a “field that was inundated.”

MISHNAH. IF SHE WAS AFFLICTED WITH BODILY DEFECTS WHILE SHE WAS STILL IN HER FATHER’S HOUSE, HER FATHER MUST PRODUCE PROOF THAT THESE DEFECTS AROSE AFTER SHE HAD BEEN BETROTHED AND [THAT, CONSEQUENTLY, IT WAS THE] HUSBAND’S FIELD THAT WAS INUNDATED. IF SHE CAME UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HER HUSBAND, THE HUSBAND MUST PRODUCE PROOF THAT THESE DEFECTS WERE UPON HER BEFORE SHE HAD BEEN BETROTHED AND [THAT CONSEQUENTLY] HIS BARGAIN WAS MADE IN ERROR. THIS IS THE RULING OF R. MEIR. THE SAGES, HOWEVER, RULED: THIS APPLIES ONLY TO CONCEALED BODILY DEFECTS; [75B] BUT IN RESPECT OF DEFECTS THAT ARE EXPOSED HE CANNOT ADVANCE ANY VALID PLEA. AND IF THERE WAS A BATH-HOUSE IN THE TOWN HE CANNOT ADVANCE ANY VALID PLEA EVEN AGAINST CONCEALED BODILY DEFECTS, BECAUSE HE [IS ASSUMED TO HAVE HAD HER] EXAMINED BY HIS WOMEN RELATIVES. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 75a-75b)

Screaming In Pain From Sex…

The Sages discuss that Mishnah in the following Gemara. What is meant by “one who screams?

R. TARFON SAID: ALSO ONE WHO SCREAMS. What is meant by a screamer? — Rab Judah replied in the name of Samuel: One who speaks aloud [22] on marital matters. In a Baraitha it was taught: [By screams was meant a wife] whose voice [23] during her intercourse in one court can be heard in another court. But should not this, then,[24] have been taught in the Mishnah[25] among defects?[26] — Clearly we must revert to the original explanation.[27] (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kethuboth 72b)

FOOTNOTE 22: Lit., ‘makes her voice heard’.
FOOTNOTE 23: Her screams of pain caused by the copulation.
FOOTNOTE 24: Since her screaming is due to a bodily defect.
FOOTNOTE 25: Infra 77a.
FOOTNOTE 26: Of course it should. Such a case in our Mishnah is out of place.
FOOTNOTE 27: That given in the name of Samuel.

RABBIS EXTORT JEWISH WIVES TO KIDNAP AND TORTURE THEIR HUSBANDS UNTIL THEY PROVIDE A GET NOTE

Four More Haredi Kidnap-Torture-Extortion Granted Bail
Reported By Failed Messiah 

The four haredi men join six others, including allegedly ringleaders Rabbi Mendel Epstein and Martin “Mordechai” Wolmark, who were granted bail earlier this week.

 

Alleged kidnap-torture-extortion gangleader Rabbi Mendel EpsteinFour More Haredi Kidnap-Torture-Extortion Granted BailShmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com 

Four more haredi men held in a kidnap-torture-extortion scheme to coerce recalcitrant Jewish husbands to grant their wives Jewish religious divorces have been granted bail, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported. They join six others, including allegedly ringleaders Rabbi Mendel Epstein and Martin “Mordechai” Wolmark, who were granted bail earlier this week. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert set bail at $1 million for Jay “Yaakov” Goldstein and $500,000 for Moshe Goldstein, Avrohom Goldstein and Simcha Bulmash.While bail amounts vary between $5 million and $500,000 for the first six of the 10 arrested gang members, all six were ordered into house arrest with electronic monitoring.The 10 were arrested in an undercover sting operation last week. Women were charged close to $100,000 each for the gang to kidnap and torture their husbands to force them to grant their wives Jewish divorces known as “gets” (get, singular; gittin, plural; in both Hebrew and Yiddish). 

No trial date has yet been scheduled.