Why we all need to care about Jewish divorce law

Published on February 15, 2012

I am often asked: “Why are you so preoccupied with the problem of get refusal. Have you ever been an agunah?” The term agunah broadly refers to a Jewish woman who is “chained” or “anchored” to a dead marriage, rendering her unable to remarry, because her husband refuses to give her a Jewish bill of divorce, or get.

Mayim Bialik narrates for chained women

By Lauren Bottner
Published on November 30, 2011

The ‘Bigamist’ Versus the ‘Agunah’

By Amy Klein
Published on March 23, 2006

When Rabbi Hagai Batzri remarried, on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles, his first wife, Luna Batzri, still hadn't received a get from him, a Jewish divorce.

The Agunah: A Modern-Day Nightmare

By Alexandra Leichter
Published on March 17, 2005

These two cases vividly illustrate the current problems of the modern day agunah (a woman chained to an unwanted marriage), because halacha (Jewish law) gives the husband the sole, unfettered power of divorce. While under Ashkenazic tradition a woman can withhold her "consent" to such a divorce, the remedies available to the victim of a recalcitrant husband or wife differ substantially.

Other Voices

Published on March 12, 1998

The evening following the final session of theSecond International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy, I attendeda small family dinner and celebrated the wedding of a SatmarChassidic couple. Among the guests were men with long curledpayot (it'spronounced "payyes" there), and some wearing shtreimels (the fur hat worn bysome Chassidic men). All of the women's heads were covered with wigs,and some even wore a small pillbox hat atop it, according to thedecree of their respective rabbis. The women were elegantly (butmodestly) attired in unrevealing clothing and were segregated fromtheir men by tall walls. While the men sang joyously, the womengossiped. When the men rose to dance, most of the women werevicariously reveled by staring at them through the cracks in thewall. (Of course, it is forbidden for the men to watch the womendance, and not one single male deigned to take even a quick"peek.")