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And He Writes Her a Bill of Divorcement

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Jewish divorce law creates a stark paradox: while ancient rabbis developed sophisticated legal protections for women, including forced compliance and marriage annulment, modern Jewish communities lack the authority to enforce these safeguards. Through analysis of the biblical get requirement—where husbands must write and deliver a bill of divorcement—this research reveals how traditional textual interpretation and legal mechanisms struggle to resolve inherent gender inequalities in religious divorce. The investigation examines rabbinic responses across history, particularly the principles of kofin oto (compulsion), Rabbenu Gershom's takkanah, and afkainhu Rabbanan (rabbinic marriage annulment). Opposition to current divorce law spans from women's advocacy groups to devout Halakhic adherents grappling with its apparent injustices. Yet rabbinic resistance to reform stems not from indifference to women's hardship, but from a profound theological view of marriage as a divine partnership transcending legal contract. This fundamental tension between literal biblical interpretation and contemporary ethical imperatives challenges halakhic authority, demanding ongoing scholarly discourse to craft solutions that uphold both legal tradition and human dignity.

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    Published 1970

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    Simon Greenberg