Joods Huwelijks- En Echtscheidingsrecht

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Joods Huwelijks- En Echtscheidingsrecht OVERZICHT VAN HET Joods huwelijks- en echtscheidingsrecht eva™ msn mr ajw wan ny» ^L* rni ronro rawa yz Jïjrwo'B woa ton na w JU «rn KT'jsb cLy rwiJs \ II 1 1 I ratbi "b mn reyv nm ww w Nyrn «rraa-i nws ja wiow NjN jk r-ryaw1 mugi KjrwJro u^ttina 'iraa vraun ^wirJy "rob r—«ayn ynx wJ» "waKon ww* cjw palm ny< •htp ïrapn mij) ]t> 'nrj< prn n vrnarn jrrwH^ »an;n Jji wra nL 'si rr-ïr 1 'vj i'—i ^i-s w res'pj-n rrpavi rtnus sin ' L ' L TIOs'' vyw yavrr-r -oj J-3 waoycb u 1 w t^at u.o r-t—nr-«—wwa un «nr nrr r tnyr>\aLjfci ^s-• * nw ya *sr*n T-I^JNI ^«B uy ng-o '*»ya w j-ti Ha> Ju®" .nw IVOJ •»»• rww TOU>a jiPyQ 1 1 ("mVviSr B'3 V» Ha»"' tflljVX >*>)'» ww p»5> "»V> rM-iaï w wVwi '"JLS WO J V O rryybtAj* Uwi NJOW H«) .VK-"! nvpFTO 'V*» rwy *w> xv) rtfb; 1 1 1 "rsjpDrf^ap rrtirr p»j> j>oj»t pn pjiioi pVjt j""" p* 'J " '««> »rj» j •tï jnj» p pnw ISjnrtV» '3'jiti Viwm >>»>1»9I •3«;ir»i •»•>»»•» jwttm» •fftvViu; rM>< 'V!fV5Ï9H-» «w»p IWXVVW 5Ï*jn j»"" Sjtf»>>V*#>*l*»W»^kVjiw.-'W: j 5>i^b»w rVn p jV .jsim jn jw jjw «»>331 "*«»» yjf ij» V w pui p ajn»' w vit yt >»»* '•jj/p*» iim 'tjt pwai psijaawVw» •« I" js'j j* fju-W jnjngT^ 'HVi'Hr" Wi A* i« »»!« *rwVin jy- pi. ^MIHH pi» JWVD ^VTI'/" J-»! Xj* -a-jp »*•» i^v,, l'H»V»V» Vjrx tjf' wi* nj»Wra w^» n»V jwawsA VVj jy* jr» pm xp «j i^jrV ps', * ; s -p "jji nnaii^ü'Vj.ii^» wjpV iui>i «o»V»V a^. ^tr r^r' © Mr.J.C.Al ISBN 9O-585O-O27-6 OVERZICHT VAN HET JOODSE HUWELIJKS- EN ECHTSCHEIDINGSRECHT Mr.J.C.Al Voor mijn zoon Daniël Simon Al Overzicht van het Joodse Huwelijks- en echtscheidingsrecht, Mr. J.C. Al. Uitgegeven door Wolf Legal Publishers (WLP), 2002. ISBN: 90-5850-027-6 Uitgever: Willem-Jan van der Wolf Productieassistent: René van der Wolf Omslag ontwerp: Sander Neijnens Illustraties: Illustratie voorzijde omslag ter beschikking gesteld door Ephraïm Goldstoff Druk: Koninklijke Wöhrmann BV, Zutphen Uitgeverij: Wolf Legal Publishers, Postbus 31051, 6503 CB Nijmegen Tel: 024-3551904 Fax: 024-3554827 E-Mail: [email protected] Http://www.wlp.biz Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden vermenigvuldigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand of openbaar worden gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch, door fotokopieën, opna- men of op enige andere manier, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de auteur en uitgever. Voor zover het maken van kopieën uit deze uitgave is toegestaan op grond van artikel 16 b Auteurswet 1912 jo. het Besluit van 20 juni 1974, Stb.351, zoals gewijzigd bij het Besluit van 23 augustus 1985, Stb.471 en artikel 17 Auteurswet 1912, dient men de daarvoor wettelijk verschuldigde vergoedingen te voldoen aan de Stichting Reprorecht (Postbus 882, 1180 AW Amstelveen). Voor het opnemen van gedeelte(n) uit deze uitgave in bloemlezingen, readers en andere compilatie-werken (artikel 16 Auteurs-wet 1912) dient men zich tot de uitgever te wenden. Hoewel aan deze uitgave de uiterste zorg is besteed, aanvaarden de auteur noch WLP aansprakelijkheid voor de aanwezigheid van eventuele (druk)fouten en onvolkomenhe- den. © 2002 ontwerp en productie WLP © 2002 tekst J. Al Voorwoord Het schrijven van een voorwoord is eigenlijk het schrijven van de wordingsgeschiedenis van het boek. Waarom ben ik begonnen een boek te schrijven over het Joodse huwe- lijks- en echtscheidingsrecht? Eind tachtiger jaren is er door mij een contract opgesteld, te gebruiken bij de Joodse huwelijkssluiting, met als aanvankelijke doelstelling de man te ontmoedigen in geval van echtscheiding te weigeren een Get te geven. Na een aanvankelijk summiere beschrijving van het contract zei men, dat dit onvoldoende was om tot begrip van het geheel te komen. Dit was voor mij de aanleiding om aan dit boek te beginnen. Er zijn twee redenen waarom dit boek er naar mijn mening moest komen. Ten eerste zijn de discussies in het echtscheidingsrecht niet goed te volgen als je niet op de hoogte bent van de Joodse huwelijks- en echt- scheidingsregels. Ten tweede is er bij mijn weten geen Nederlandstalig boek over dit onderwerp. Om als specialist op dit gebied te kunnen optreden, moet je van zeer goede huize komen. Er zijn heel weinig specialisten op dit gebied; er zijn wel veel amateurs die aan de hand van dit boek enigszins een beeld kunnen krijgen van de problematiek. In de talmoed in het boek Kidoesjien, pagina 3a, wordt door Rav Yehuda in naam van Rabbijn Smuel gezegd: "Een ieder die geen kennis heeft van de wetten betreffende de echtschei- dingsregelingen en handelingen betreffende het huwelijk moet zich er niet mee bemoeien (...)." Rav Assi zei in naam van Rabbijn Yochanan: i OVERZICHT VAN HET JOODSE HUWELIJKS- EN ECHTSCHEIDINGSRECHT "(...) en deze personen (namelijk diegenen die rechtspreken in dergelijke zaken zonder voldoende kennis van de wet) zijn slechter voor de wereld dan de generatie die de zondvloed van Noach hebben veroorzaakt." Het is zo ernstig, omdat door de uitspraken van "onwetenden" verboden huwelijken konden worden gesloten en de kinderen uit die huwelijken dan bastaards werden. Uit dit citaat blijkt hoe belangrijk het is om óf een specialist te zijn, óf te onderkennen wanneer je er een specialist bij nodig hebt. Dit boek is geschreven voor juristen die met Joodse huwelijken en echtscheiding te maken krijgen, alsmede voor de geïnteresseerde leken en anderen die zich uit interesse bezig houden met het Joodse recht. In dit boek wil ik een overzicht geven van het Joodse huwelijks- en echtscheidingsrecht. Het is uiteraard verre van compleet, maar men moet ergens beginnen. Er hoort in ieder geval nog een tweede deel bij dat zal handelen over de Agoena (de "geketende vrouw": de vrouw die door omstandigheden, bijvoorbeeld door het ontbreken van getuigen bij het overlijden van haar man, of door onwil van haar echtgenoot om een scheidsbrief te geven, geen weduwe, respectievelijk deugdelijk gescheiden vrouw is). Door persoonlijke omstandigheden ben ik er nog niet aan toe gekomen voldoende informatie te verzamelen om de problemen van de Agoena hier te behandelen en ik heb ervoor gekozen eerst dit algemene overzicht te publiceren. Dan kan diegene die later het boek over de Agoena leest beter begrijpen in welke context dat probleem geplaatst moet worden. In dit overzicht zult u regels aantreffen omtrent het karakter van het Joodse huwelijk. In dat kader wordt aandacht besteed aan de verplichtingen van de man en die van de vrouw, die bij het aangaan van een Joods huwelijk horen. Beschreven zijn ook de regels aangaande het huwelijkscontract (de Ketoeba) en de juridische status van Joodse huwelijken. ii VOORWOORD Zowel bij het huwelijk als bij een echtscheiding zijn er rituele procedures die hierbij van wezenlijk belang zijn. In de Ketoeba - de huwelijksakte - kan men bijvoorbeeld allerlei zaken regelen; het is geen star, vaststaand document. In het laatste deel van het boek vindt u de gang van zaken bij een echt- scheiding beschreven; de uitgewerkte procedure is in een bijlage opgenomen. Tevens treft u een bijlage aan met daarin de gang van zaken bij de Chalitza (het weigeren van een zwagerhuwelijk). Het taalgebruik van de procedure van de Get (scheidsbrief) en de Chalitza doet nogal hard aan; het is goed om daarop voorbereid te zijn. Die hardheid is in de ontstane en gevestigde praktijk van oudsher aan- wezig en geeft niet (altijd) de intenties van de schrijver of de uitspreker weer. Het is van belang u te realiseren dat het hier om zeer oude en rituele procedures gaat waarvan met de vorm heeft weten te behouden tot in deze tijd. De kennis die in dit boek wordt aangereikt, is gebaseerd op de Halacha - het Joodse recht - waarover in het begin van het boek een summier overzicht wordt gegeven. Ik hoop dat ik spoedig in de gelegenheid zal zijn het tweede deel over de Agoena verder te schrijven als vervolg op deze uitgave. Het schrijven van een boek is iets anders dan het ook uit te geven. Voor het publiceren van een boek zijn financiële en technische middelen nodig. Bij de totstandkoming van dit boek zijn uiteindelijk veel mensen betrokken geraakt. Deze uitgave is ook mede financieel mogelijk gemaakt door betrokken vrienden en organisaties. Bij deze wil ik allen bedanken die hieraan hebben bijgedragen. Graag wil ik mijn dank uitspreken voor de bijdragen aan het vervol- maken van de tekst door diverse personen. iii OVERZICHT VAN HET JOODSE HUWELIJKS- EN ECHTSCHEIDINGSRECHT Mijn speciale dank gaat uit naar Prof. mr. Guus Stille, hoogleraar ver- bonden aan de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid van de Universiteit van Utrecht, aan de Rotterdamse en Goudse familie, en vooral ook aan de familie uit Israël. Ook bedank ik Rabbijn mr. drs. R. Evers voor de gesprekken die ik met hem heb gehad. Verder bedank ik Rabbijn F.}. Lewis voor het verschaffen van de teksten van de bijlagen betreffende de get en de chalitza. Deze bijdragen dragen in belangrijke mate bij tot de duidelijkheid van het boek. Voorts bedank ik Rabbijn Yehuda Aschkenasy voor zijn waardevolle opmerkingen. De warme vriendschap van mijn dochter Channa gaf mij moed dit boek te voltooien en Evelyne Al-Falk, de moeder van mijn kinderen, heeft bij de eindredactie gewaardeerde stimulerende steun verleend. Hetgeen ik heb geschreven blijft uiteraard voor mijn eigen verantwoor- delijkheid. Dit boek draag ik met liefde op aan mijn zoon Daniël z.1.
Recommended publications
  • Adas Israel Congregation
    Adas Israel Congregation ChronicleMarch Highlights: Purim 5775 Full Schedule 2 Associate Rabbi Search Update 2 Kay Hall Renovation 2 Sulam Board Development 4 Kol HaOlam 5 Passover 5775 Full Schedule 6 First Night Passover Seder 7 Ma Tovu: Geoffery Berman 20 Vol. 77, No. 8 / March 2015 / Adar–Nissan 5775 Chronicle • March 2015 • 1 Associate Rabbi Search Update Purim 5775/2015 The Associate Rabbi search process is in full swing. The Joint Placement Join us for the festive observances of Purim, Committee of the Rabbinic Assembly and the search committee, chaired by celebrated every year on the 14th of the He- Jamie Butler, have been in regular consultation over the last six months. brew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). The committee has reviewed more than 20 applications, conducted eight The holiday commemorates the salvation of introductory Skype interviews to date, and anticipates additional ones in the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Ha- the coming weeks. Committee members have received applications from man’s plot “to destroy the Jews in a single day.” experienced rabbis all over the country, and they are enthusiastic about This year at Adas observances include the quality of the applicants. The committee expects to bring promising a full Megillah reading in the style of The candidates in for a mid-week visit that will include leading minyan, reading Wizard of Oz, a Traditional Egalitarian Minyan Torah, delivering a brief d’var Torah, and meeting with the committee, clergy, family reading, readings for families with and staff. The committee will then invite finalists for a Shabbat weekend young children, and the incredible annual sometime this spring and will solicit feedback from the congregation.
    [Show full text]
  • 2006 Abstracts
    Works in Progress Group in Modern Jewish Studies Session Many of us in the field of modern Jewish studies have felt the need for an active working group interested in discussing our various projects, papers, and books, particularly as we develop into more mature scholars. Even more, we want to engage other committed scholars and respond to their new projects, concerns, and methodological approaches to the study of modern Jews and Judaism, broadly construed in terms of period and place. To this end, since 2001, we have convened a “Works in Progress Group in Modern Jewish Studies” that meets yearly in connection with the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference on the Saturday night preceding the conference. The purpose of this group is to gather interested scholars together and review works in progress authored by members of the group and distributed and read prior to the AJS meeting. 2006 will be the sixth year of a formal meeting within which we have exchanged ideas and shared our work with peers in a casual, constructive environment. This Works in Progress Group is open to all scholars working in any discipline within the field of modern Jewish studies. We are a diverse group of scholars committed to engaging others and their works in order to further our own projects, those of our colleagues, and the critical growth of modern Jewish studies. Papers will be distributed in November. To participate in the Works in Progress Group, please contact: Todd Hasak-Lowy, email: [email protected] or Adam Shear, email: [email protected] Co-Chairs: Todd S.
    [Show full text]
  • Association for Jewish Studies 43Rd Annual Conference December 18–20, 2011
    43 ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES JEWISH FOR ASSOCIATION New York, NY 10011-6301 NY York, New 16th Street 15 West History Jewish for c/o Center Studies Jewish for Association 43ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES DECEMBER 18–20, 2011 GRAND HYATT WASHINGTON WASHINGTON, DC 43 RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE RD ANNUAL DECEMBER 18–20, 2011 Association for Jewish Studies Association for Jewish Studies c/o Center for Jewish History 43rd Annual Conference 15 West 16th Street New York, NY 10011-6301 Program Book Contents Phone: (917) 606-8249 Fax: (917) 606-8222 E-mail: [email protected] Association for Jewish Studies Goals and Standards.................................................... 4 www.ajsnet.org Institutional Members.................................................................................................... 5 President AJS Staff Marsha Rozenblit, University of Maryland Rona Sheramy, Executive Director Message from the Conference Chair............................................................................. 6 Vice President/Membership Karen Terry, Program and Membership and Outreach Coordinator Conference Information................................................................................................ 8 Anita Norich, University of Michigan Natasha Perlis, Project Manager Vice President/Program Emma Barker, Conference and Program Program Committee and Division Coordinators........................................................... 9 Derek Penslar, University of Toronto Associate 2011 Award Recipients.................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff Modest Communication Question
    1 CJLS OH 74.2019α Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff Modest Communication Approved, June 19, 2019 (20‐0‐0). Voting in favor: Rabbis Pamela Barmash, Noah Bickart, Elliot Dorff, Baruch Frydman‐Kohl, Susan Grossman, Judith Hauptman, Joshua Heller, Jeremy Kalmanofsky, Jan Kaufman, Gail Labovitz, Amy Levin, Daniel Nevins, Micah Peltz, Avram Reisner, Robert Scheinberg, David Schuck, Deborah Silver, Ariel Stofenmacher, Iscah Waldman, Ellen Wolintz Fields. Question: How can a Jew promote oneself professionally and socially without violating Jewish norms of modesty (tzi’ni’ut) in communication? Put another way, in light of the fact that in social media people actively seek affirmation (likes, shares, etc.) for their posts and the fact that some jobs even require the generation of such quantifiable affirmations, how can and should a Jew living in this social and professional environment participate in it while still observing traditional Jewish norms regarding modest speech? Answer: Introduction Now that our colleagues, Rabbis David Booth, Brukh Frydman‐Kohl, and Ashira Konisgburg have completed their rabbinic ruling on modesty in dress,1 I intend in this responsum to continue their work in a related area, modesty in communication. In a companion responsum, I will also discuss harmful communication. In this responsum in particular it is important to note at the outset that many of the norms that are discussed could be understood, on the positive end of the spectrum, as either laws obligating a particular form of behavior or, in contrast, as aspirational modes of behavior (middat hassidut), and, on the negative end of the spectrum, some will straddle the line between legally prohibited and permitted but discouraged.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender in Jewish Studies
    Gender in Jewish Studies Proceedings of the Sherman Conversations 2017 Volume 13 (2019) GUEST EDITOR Katja Stuerzenhofecker & Renate Smithuis ASSISTANT EDITOR Lawrence Rabone A publication of the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-published by © University of Manchester, UK. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this volume may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, the University of Manchester, and the co-publisher, Gorgias Press LLC. All inquiries should be addressed to the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester (email: [email protected]). Co-Published by Gorgias Press LLC 954 River Road Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA Internet: www.gorgiaspress.com Email: [email protected] ISBN 978-1-4632-4056-1 ISSN 1759-1953 This volume is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standard for Permanence of paper for Printed Library Materials. Printed in the United States of America Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies is distributed electronically free of charge at www.melilahjournal.org Melilah is an interdisciplinary Open Access journal available in both electronic and book form concerned with Jewish law, history, literature, religion, culture and thought in the ancient, medieval and modern eras. Melilah: A Volume of Studies was founded by Edward Robertson and Meir Wallenstein, and published (in Hebrew) by Manchester University Press from 1944 to 1955. Five substantial volumes were produced before the series was discontinued; these are now available online.
    [Show full text]
  • Walking with Mitzvot Edited by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson Ogb Hfrs Andvhfrs Rabbi Patricia Fenton in Memory of Harold Held and Louise Held, of Blessed Memory
    The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Walking with Mitzvot Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson ogb hfrs andvhfrs Rabbi Patricia Fenton In Memory of Harold Held and Louise Held, of blessed memory The Held Foundation Melissa and Michael Bordy Joseph and Lacine Held Robert and Lisa Held Published in partnership with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. July 2011 Dear Colleague, We are delighted to enclose your copy of Walking with Mitzvot, the fifth book in the series created for adult learners by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Walking with Mitzvot is a series of ten learning units that make up a complete adult education course. These materials expose participants to some of the very best thinkers of Conservative Judaism, and their scholarship, passion and faith. They stimulate thought and discussion, and promote learning, while offering an impressive sampling of texts from our rich tradition, presented in the original and in English translation. The book includes a series of session suggestions to guide you in mastering the material and presenting it to your adult learners. You may select which sessions to run and which texts to use for each session, so that you may customize the course in line with the needs and goals of your own community. Many of the texts are appropriate for multiple sessions. All texts may be copied and distributed to participants, and you may download PDF versions without charge from www.walkingwith.org. We would like to express our profound thanks for the generous support of the Held Foundation, which has sponsored this project in memory of Harold Held and Louise Held.
    [Show full text]
  • ORZ 510 Jan/Feb News, 18.3
    A Traditional, Egalitarian, and Participatory Conservative Synagogue CELEBRATING 25 YEARS IYAR/SIVAN/TAMMUZ 5775 NEWSLETTER/VOLUME 27:5 MAY/JUNE 2015 Shavuot Book Share Tikkun The Aleppo Codex, with Rabbi Scott Bolton and Michael Schwartz TIKKUN LEYL SHAVUOT, SATURDAY NIGHT, MAY 23 Ma’ariv begins at 9:00 p.m., followed by the Tikkun and cheesecake his Shavuot join us for a unique widely available from booksellers. You can and participatory Tikkun—a find reviews of the book at the Jewish community book discussion led Book Council website (www.tinyurl.com/ by Rabbi Bolton and Congregant OZTikkun2015) and in Tablet (www.tinyurl. TMichael Schwartz. Our book, com/OZTikkun2015A ). The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, A famous scribe, cited by the leg- Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible endary Maimonides, wrote the Aleppo by Matti Friedman, tells the amazing story Codex in the tenth century. It was written of the creation, preservation, loss, and at the same time as the Mishneh Torah rediscovery of a crucial Biblical text. It is and was protected for centuries in the CHARLIE SPIELHOLZ ancient synagogue of Syria’s largest Jewish community. When the Aleppo com- munity began to disperse in the 1940s and 1950s, the Codex found itself in tran- sit for the first time in hundreds of years. However, pages are missing. Where are the missing pages? What did human hands do with a relic that was thought to preserve the experience of Sinai? We look forward to seeing everyone on Shavuot and, of course, for the cheesecake—and other dairy treats— afterwards! JOIN OZ FOR THE 51st ANNUAL CELEBRATE ISRAEL PARADE, SUNDAY, MAY 31.
    [Show full text]
  • A New View of Women and Torah Study in the Talmudic Period
    JSIJ 9 (2010) 249-292 A NEW VIEW OF WOMEN AND TORAH STUDY IN THE TALMUDIC PERIOD JUDITH HAUPTMAN* Introduction1 Scholars have long maintained that women did not study Torah in the rabbinic period. D. Goodblatt claims that it was uncommon for a woman to be learned in rabbinic traditions.2 D. Boyarin writes that women’s voices were suppressed in the Houses of Study.3 T. Ilan and D. Goodblatt both hold that women learned domestic rules and biblical verses, but not other subjects.4 S.J.D. Cohen says that women * Jewish Theological Seminary, NY 1 I wish to thank Aharon Shemesh, Arnon Atzmon, and Shmuel Sandberg for their helpful comments and suggestions. 2 D. Goodblatt, in “The Beruriah Traditions,” (JJS 1975, 86) writes: “the existence of a woman learned in rabbinic traditions was a possibility, however uncommon.” 3 D. Boyarin, in Carnal Israel (Berkeley: University of California Press 1993, 169), writes: “My major contention is that there was a significant difference between the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds with regard to the empowering (or disempowering) of women to study Torah. Both in the Palestinian and in the Babylonian text the dominant discourse suppressed women’s voices in the House of Study. These texts, however, provide evidence that in Palestine a dissident voice was tolerated, while in Babylonia this issue seems to have been so threatening that even a minority voice had to be entirely expunged.” He adds that it is possible that the suppression of women’s voices in Babylonia could either mean that women did not have access to Torah study or, just the opposite, that they frequently studied Torah.
    [Show full text]
  • Mikveh and the Sanctity of Being Created Human
    chapter 3 Mikveh and the Sanctity of Being Created Human Susan Grossman This paper was approved by the CJLS on September 13, 2006 by a vote of four- teen in favor, one opposed and four abstaining (14-1-4). Members voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Elliot Dorff, Aaron Mackler, Robert Harris, Robert Fine, David Wise, Daniel Nevins, Alan Lucas, Joel Roth, Myron Geller, Pamela Barmash, Gordon Tucker, Vernon Kurtz, and Susan Grossman. Members voting against: Rabbi Leonard Levy. Members abstaining: Rabbis Joseph Prouser, Loel Weiss, Paul Plotkin, and Avram Reisner. Sheilah How should we, as modern Conservative Jews, observe the laws tradition- ally referred to under the rubric Tohorat HaMishpahah (The Laws of Family Purity)?1 Teshuvah Introduction Judaism is our path to holy living, for turning the world as it is into the world as it can be. The Torah is our guide for such an ambitious aspiration, sanctified by the efforts of hundreds of generations of rabbis and their communities to 1 The author wishes to express appreciation to all the following who at different stages com- mented on this work: Dr. David Kraemer, Dr. Shaye Cohen, Dr. Seth Schwartz, Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky, z”l, Rabbi James Michaels, Annette Muffs Botnick, Karen Barth, and the mem- bers of the CJLS Sub-Committee on Human Sexuality. I particularly want to express my appreciation to Dr. Joel Roth. Though he never published his halakhic decisions on tohorat mishpahah (“family purity”), his lectures and teaching guided countless rabbinical students and rabbinic colleagues on this subject. In personal communication with me, he confirmed that the below psak (legal decision) and reasoning offered in his name accurately reflects his teaching.
    [Show full text]
  • Choosing Parenthood: ART, Adoption and the Single Parent
    EH 1:3:2020 Choosing Parenthood: ART, Adoption and the Single Parent by Rabbi Susan Grossman Approved on May 13, 2020, by a vote of 24-0-1. Voting in favor: Rabbis Aaron Alexander, Jaymee Alpert, Pamela Barmash, David Booth, Suzanne Brody, Nate Crane, Elliot Dorff, David Fine, Susan Grossman, Judith Hauptman, Joshua Heller, David Hoffman, Jeremy Kalmanofsky, Steven Kane, Amy Levin, Daniel Nevins, Micah Peltz, Avram Reisner, Robert Scheinberg, David Schuck, Deborah Silver, Ariel Stofenmacher, Iscah Waldman, and Ellen Wolintz-Fields. Voting Against: none. Abstaining: Rabbi Jan Kaufman. Sheilah: May a single, unmarried, individual who wants to choose to become a parent through adoption and/or the use of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) do so under Jewish law? Teshuvah: Introduction: About fifteen years ago, a congregant approached me to perform a baby naming for her newborn daughter. I knew the woman. She had grown up in the congregation. She was single, had despaired of ever getting married, and had chosen to utilize ART to have a child of her own and raise that child on her own. She wanted to welcome her child into the covenant within her congregational home. The next Sabbath, with the proud grandparents in attendance, the woman carried her daughter up to the bimah for her aliyah, following which I blessed her and her child and announced the child’s name. After services, I was approached by several older members who were distressed that the congregation had “legitimized” a child born “out of wedlock.” It was irrelevant to them that they knew the woman since she had been a child and were otherwise sympathetic to her.
    [Show full text]
  • Observing Niddah in Our Day: an Inquiry on the Status of Purity and the Prohibition of Sexual Activity with a Menstruant
    OBSERVING NIDDAH IN OUR DAY: AN INQUIRY ON THE STATUS OF PURITY AND THE PROHIBITION OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MENSTRUANT Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner This paper was approved by the CJLS on September 13, 2006, by a vote of thirteen in favor, two opposed and four abstaining (13- 2-4). Members voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Elliot Dorff, Aaron Mackler, Robert Harris, Robert Fine, David Wise, Loel Weiss, Daniel Nevins, Alan Lucas, Joel Roth, Paul Plotkin, Avram Reisner, and Vernon Kurtz. Members voting against: Rabbis Gordon Tucker and Susan Grossman. Members abstaining: Rabbis Joseph Prouser, Leonard Levy, Myron Geller, and Pamela Barmash. :שאלה Is it necessary, in our day, to continue the prohibition of sexual activity during and after a woman’s menstruation? Is it still necessary for a menstruant to immerse in a mikveh before resuming sexual relations? If so, what are the parameters that apply? PROLOGUE Fundamental to the Biblical description of reality is the notion of the twinned states of tum’ah (impurity) and tohorah (purity), one of which (tum’ah) is incompatible with the sacred (kodesh). It is difficult to concede the reality of these designations in a twenty-first century that is dominated by scientific thought, and which cannot find any trace of these entities in reality. Yet the Torah clearly understands these to be either physical or metaphysical states and defines modes of contracting them and modes of being relieved of them which are quite physical in their nature. It would be convenient, but inconsistent with the Biblical foundation of our religion, to simply profess disbelief in a system described by the Torah at length.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabbi Daniella Kolodny Agunah Speech for IKETH
    VIOLENCE IN THE JEWISH TRADITION: THE CASE OF THE AGUNAH Presentation to the IKETH Seminar 5-8 July 2012 Rabbi Daniella Kolodny We have been asked to talk about violence against women in our religious traditions. We are horrified when we hear of physical violence but it is also psychological violence which can be equally insidious. What is difficult as well is when people misuse our religious traditions to justify their violence. Using the claim that civil authorities do not understand or appreciate our various religious traditions, they carry on battering, in one form or another, their victims, all along claiming that they are obeying God’s will. Today, the subject of my talk is the agunah , the metaphorically “chained woman” who lives in a halachic (Jewish legal) limbo. She is “chained” because she is separated from her husband but not divorced from him. Married or “chained” to a man and a life which she wants to put behind her and because of the very structure of Jewish law, she is unable to move on. This limbo status when carried out for a long time can harm the woman, their children and her family through years of uncertainty. This is not a minor issue, for religious Jewish women around the world and for all women in Israel who want to get divorced, the category of agunah presents a legal obstacle for which there are remedies but none of which have been universally accepted in the Jewish world. Before I immigrated to the United Kingdom, I served as a U.S.
    [Show full text]