Get (divorce document)

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A get (גט, plural gittim or gittin) is the Hebrew word for a divorce document, which is presented by a husband to his wife on the occasion of their divorce. The essential text of the get is quite short: "You are hereby permitted to all men," i.e. you are no longer a married woman, and the laws of adultery no longer apply. The get also returns to the wife the legal rights which a husband holds in regard to his wife in a Jewish marriage.

Contents

1 Requirements
2 Refusal to provide a ''get''
3 Get conflict

3.1 New York ''Get'' Laws

4 History
5 Literary references
6 See also

Requirements

The get must be written by a religious scribe (sofer), with the explicit and free-willed approval of the husband, and with the specific intention that it is to be used by a certain man and woman. (It can not be initially written with blanks to be filled in later.) It must be hand-delivered to the wife, whose physical acceptance of the get validates the divorce.

There are certain detailed requirements relating to the legal and religious nature of the get itself. For example:

It must be written on a fresh document, and there must be no possibility of cleanly erasing the text.
It may not be written on anything which is attached to the ground (for instance, a fig leaf).
The get may not be pre-dated.

Any deviations from these requirements invalidate the get and the divorce procedure.

Refusal to provide a get

The laws of gittin only provide for a divorce initiated by the husband. However, the wife has the right to sue for divorce in a rabbinical court. The court, finding just cause, will require the husband to divorce his wife.

Historically, a husband who refused the court's demand that he divorce his wife would be subjected to various penalties in order to pressure him into granting a divorce. Such penalties included excommunication, monetary punishments, and physical abuse--including forcing the husband to spend the night at an unmarked grave (with the implication that it could become his grave). Today, however, rabbinical courts outside of Israel do not have sufficient power to enforce such penalties. This sometimes leads to the perverse situation in which the husband makes demands of the court and of his wife, demanding exorbitant ransom in exchange for the get. This ransom can also extend to demands regarding the custody of the couple's children.

Sometimes a man will completely refuse to grant a divorce. This leaves his wife with no recourse, and no possibility of remarriage. Such an unfortunate woman is called an agunah (literally a "chained" or "anchored" wife). A man who refuses to give his wife a get is frequently spurned by the community, and excluded from communal religious activities. It is hoped that this pressure will encourage him to grant the divorce.

Get conflict

New York Get Laws

1983 Get Law : Domestic Relations Law §253
1992 Get Law : DRL §236 (B)(5)(h) and DRL §236 (B)(6)(d)

History

One of the most contentious gittim in history was probably the "Get of Cleves" of the late 18th century, which caused a rift between several rabbinic courts in Western Europe[link].

Literary references

Krich, Rochelle Majer Till Death Do Us Part (1992) ISBN 0380765330