In Jewish law, a woman must obtain a bill of divorce from her husband before she is able to marry again. According to women’s rights groups, there are several thousand open cases of men refusing to give their wives a get, using it as a tool to extort more favorable terms in the divorce settlement.
Mavoi Satum is promoting what it calls “an agreement for mutual respect,” a document which, if the couple signs, legally obligates a partner to pay $1,500 a month or half of his or her salary, until he gives or she accepts a get. The penalty terms would begin six months after one party requests the request for divorce.
Not exactly Jewish humor, but it's encouraging to see some progress being made toward resolution of what has been a difficult issue in Jewish life for a long time.
And it's always nice to enjoy the sights and sounds of singing and dancing in the streets of Jerusalem.
(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)
(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing this video to our attention.)
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Talk about"Dancing with the Stars!!"...........Very cute-----A Little Yiddisha Reggae never hurt anyone! Thanks Al-----M.A.
ReplyDeleteCute! Jewish humor, indeed! The small print at the bottom of the second page of the agreement in question states correctly that the authors of the agreement cannot guarantee its halakhic or legal validity. Indeed, it is opposed by numerous halakhic authorities, for the simple reason that Jewish law requires husband and wife equally to agree to divorce, with very very few exceptions. Having to pay a penalty in the event of refusal - justified or not - is considered illegitimate pressure to divorce. Perhaps the folks at Mavoi Satum and at Kolech will realize one day that a more halakhically effective agreement is one in which both partners agree in a binding agreement with proper "teeth" to cooperate with a professional mediator, so they can come to the divorce agreement required for them to get on with their Jewish divorce. Such a "Marital Agreement to Mediate" - completely egalitarian - has been published several times in rabbinic journals, including Tradition, of the Rabbinical Council of America, and has been approved by the highest halakhic authorities. The key to Jewish divorce is cooperation, not maintaining and intensifying the power struggles.
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