Tikkun Olam

I just last month posted about the problems connected with the Jewish way of divorce, where the man has to grant the woman a religious divorce by giving her a divorce document called a " get ."  I argued that despite all efforts, legal and illegal, non-violent (requesting politely, cajoling, pleading) and violent (kidnapping, beating and sometimes torturing), there are still men who refuse to grant their wives, their civilly divorced ex-wives-the halachic (Jewish law) document that they need in order to get on with their lives, begin dating, and eventually (hopefully) remarry. Hat tip to Tzipi , my daughter, for sharing this. It's happened again, and thank goodness that after three years the Orthodox woman whose recalcitrant ex-husband refused to give a get , went public. I reprint this introduction from the New York Post : Four-and-a-half years ago, Gital Dodelson, now 25, of Lakewood, NJ, married Avrohom Meir Weiss, part of a respected rabbinic family on Staten I...

I hesitate to write this post, because it will be controversial.  Many of my readers might disagree with my view, but I'm certain there are also those who will agree.  In addition to which, I hate to air our 'dirty laundry,' in public, because this blog has readers of other faiths as well, and we respect each other for our beliefs, as disparate as they might be.  However, I feel the need to bring this important issue up for discussion, in order to effect change for the good--and so, read on... Within the last few days, there were some frightening news stories about two "Orthodox Rabbis" in New York who were arrested by the FBI for arranging--for a hefty fee--the kidnapping, beating and sometimes torture of men who had refused to divorce their wives, that is, refused to give their wives a religious Jewish decree of divorce, called a " get ." From The New York Times : ...While it’s common for rabbis to take action against defiant husbands, such as b...