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This section explores divorce in Jewish Law.
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Riskin, Shlomo
"Hafka'at Kiddushin: Towards Solving the Aguna Problem in our Time," Riskin, Shlomo. Tradition, 36:4, 2002, 1-36.
Synopsis: R. Shlomo Riskin presents a halakhic case for religious Jewish courts of law to be permitted to annul marriages under extreme circumstances of refusal of a husband to grant a divorce. He proposes this annulment, called hafka'at kiddushin, as a solution to the problem of recalcitrant husbands. A debate between Rabbis Riskin and Jeremy Wieder can be followed in additional articles referenced on this page.
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ADDITIONAL READING
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Bleich, J. David
"Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature (Relating to Jewish Divorce)," Bleich, J. David. Tradition, 35:4, 2001, 44-73.
Synopsis: Bleich discusses the various remedies for the growing problem of agunot within Judaism. He discusses the basis for the cotroversy around the issue.
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Brody, Robert
"Evidence for Divorce by Jewish Women?," Brody, Robert. Journal of Jewish Studies, L(2), Autumn 1999, 230-234.
Synopsis: In this article, Brody examines historical evidence of divorce proceedings in Jewish law and the possibility that women might be responsible for transmission of the writ of divorce to her husband. He concludes that any evidence that this might have occurred is not convincing or not within the context of normative Rabbinic Judaism.
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Broyde, Michael
"Child Custody in Jewish Law," Broyde, Michael. JHCS, 27, 1999, 21-46.
Synopsis: This article is a survey of several halakhic issues related to child custody determinations
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Broyde, Michael
"Error in the Creation of Jewish Marriages: Under what Circumstances Can Error in the Creation of a Marriage Void the Marriage without Requiring a Get according to Halacha," Broyde, Michael. Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law: A Conceptual Understanding of the Agunah Problems in America, 2001.
Synopsis: This article is an appendix to a book entitled Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law: A Conceptual Understanding of the Agunah Problems in America by the same author. The book is referenced on this page.
The goal of the appendix is to demonstrate the nature of the halakhic response to questions of kidushai ta'ut -- errors in the creation of a marriage based on information not being revealed. Essentially, this section notes that while the grounds upon which women could argue that kidushai ta'ut occurred were extremely narrow in talmudic times, broader in the era of the rishonim, and have grown yet further in America in the last 50 years, this halakhic truth was predicated on a social reality regarding marriage.
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Cohen, Myrella
"The Family Law Act 1996: The Changing Face of Divorce," Cohen, Myrella. Le'ela, December 1999, 59-62.
Synopsis: Discusses the Family Law Act of 1996 which was created with the intention of removing the adversarial aspect of divorce by making the sole criterion for divorce a broken marriage - without assigning blame to either party. The author reflects on the implications of this law for the Jewish community.
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Dick, Judah
"Is an Agreement to Deliver or Accept a Get in the Event of a Civil Divorce Halakhically Feasible?," Dick, Judah. Tradition, 21:2, 1983, 91-106.
Synopsis: This article addresses the problems inherent in enforcing the standard prenuptal agreement and offers a creative alternative solution.
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Haut, Irwin H.
"A Problem in Jewish Divorce Law: An Analysis and Some Suggestions," Haut, Irwin H.. Tradition, 16:3, 1977, 29-49.
Synopsis: This article presents an overview and analysis of the various procedures involved in procuring a get. It also suggests solutions to the overwhelming agunah problem.
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Reiss, Jonathan
"Jewish Divorce and the Role of Beit Din," Reiss, Jonathan. Jewish Action, Winter, 1999.
Synopsis: In this article, R. Reiss discusses the role and functions of the beit din in securing a get.
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Riskin, Shlomo
"Response (to Jeremy Wieder)," Riskin, Shlomo. Tradition, 36:4, 2002, 44-53.
Synopsis: R. Riskin responds to R. Wieder’s rebuttal (referenced on this page) of R. Riskin’s original article (above).
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Shenhav, Sharon
"Human Rights, Jewish Women and Jewish Law," Shenhav, Sharon. Justice, 21, 1999, 28-31.
Synopsis: This article explains why Jewish women are victims of human rights violations in matters of religious marriage and divorce.
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Solomon, Norman
"Jewish Divorce Law and Contemporary Society," Solomon, Norman. Jewish Journal of Sociology, 25, 1983, 131-139.
Synopsis: This article addresses the issue of Jewish divorce in English courts and analyzes various approaches to the agunah problem from several different denominations. He analyzes the viability of several proposed solutions as well as uses this as a model to dicusss the differences amongst denominations.
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Warburg, Yehuda
"Spousal Emotional Stress: Proposed Relieve for the Modern-Day Agunah," Warburg, Yehuda. JHCS, LV, Spring, 2008, 49-52.
Synopsis: In this article, R. Dr. Lebowitz deals with the grounds for a wife to submit a claim for mental anguish due to her husband's refusal to engage in conjugal relations while living in the marital home. Based on this case, he also raises questions about whether a wife can submit a claim for mental anguish if her husband is intransigent regarding the get. R. Lebowitz states that rabbinical courts should insist that resolving the issues of the end of marriage include addressing spousal claims for mental anguish.
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Westreich, Avishalom
"Compelling a Divorce? Early Talmudic Roots of Coercion in a Case of Moredet," Westreich, Avishalom. Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester, August 2007.
Synopsis: Rabbenu Tam opposed coercion in divorce, arguing that coercion has no basis in Talmudic sources. In this scholarly and fascinating article, the author argues that the gaonic view, which allows for coercion, is well-grounded in tannaitic and amoraic sources, as well as later anonymous Talmudic discussions. He claims that interpreting these sources to justify coercion is even the preferable interpretation.
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Westreich, Avishalom
"'Umdena: Between Mistaken Transaction (Kidushey Ta'ut) and Terminative Condition," Westreich, Avishalom. Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester, November 2007.
Synopsis: The author discusses three concepts and their possible applicability for terminating a marriage: (a) "terminative conditions", i.e. a case where an event that occurs during married life makes the marriage retrospectively void, based on an explicit stipulation of the spouses at the time of marriage; (b) "mistaken transaction", i.e. a fact that was in existence at the time of marriage, but one spouse was unaware of it, and if he or she had been aware of it he or she would not have married. In this case, the awareness of that fact at a later time reveals the actual status of the marriage: the marriage is based on a mistake, and therefore has never been valid; (c) "'umdena". This case lies between the previous ones: it is based on a fact that we assume could lead one of the spouses to cancel the marriage. But this fact was not in existence at the time of the marriage so no "mistake" actually occurred at that time.
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Wieder, Jeremy
"Hafka’at Kiddushin: Rejoinder," Wieder, Jeremy. Tradition, 37:1, 2003, 61-78.
Synopsis: This is the fourth and final article in a series of articles (referenced on this page) in which Rabbis Riskin and Wieder debate the applicability of hafka’at kiddushin. R. Riskin proposes using hafka’at kiddushin as a solution to the problem of recalcitrant husbands who refuse to give their wives a divorce. R. Wieder opposes this. Each presents halakhic arguments to defend his position.
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Wieder, Jeremy
"Hafka’at Kiddushin: A Rebuttal," Wieder, Jeremy. Tradition, 36:4, 2002, 37-43.
Synopsis: The author presents arguments to support his claim that Rabbi Riskin (in his article referenced on this page “Hafka’at Kiddushin: Towards Solving the Aguna Problem in our Time”) does not justify his solution. Aside from halakhic arguments, R. Wieder presents practical arguments, maintaining that unless all segments of the Jewish community accept this solution, it is not viable. He also argues that such a solution as R. Riskin proposes will undermine the integrity of kiddushin.
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Halperin-Kaddari, Ruth
"Says Who? Women, Men and Jewish Divorce: Whose Justice Is It?," Halperin-Kaddari, Ruth. JOFA 5th International Conference. 2004.
Synopsis: Do women and men see things differently when it comes to questions of justice, equality, and equity in divorce?
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Broyde, Michael
Marriage, Divorce, and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law. Broyde, Michael. Ktav, 2001.
Synopsis: One of the most vexing problems to confront American Orthodox Jewry is where a wife is abandoned by her husband who refuses to give her a Jewish divorce. This work seeks to explain the agunah problem in the United States. It notes that the contemporary agunah problem in America is radically different than that of contemporary Israel and completely different than the talmudic agunah problem.
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