Profile Rabbi Dovid E. Eidensohn

Sunday, April 29, 2018

The sin of forcing a husband to give his wife a GET from a secular court


David Eidensohn eidensohnd@gmail.com

7:37 PM (11 minutes ago)
Reply
to Yehoishophot
Aryeh Leib Yoffe writes, "Show me one source that forbids giving a get to a woman who went to civil court. Just one!"

The gemora in Gittin 88b says that rabbis outside of Israel don't have a proper Semicha and if a gentile forces a Jew to give a GET we have a gemora Rabbi Tarfone said any place you find gentiles forcing [a GET] even if they rule as the Torah rules you are not allowed to use them, as it is said, "Before them and not before gentiles." This means if you have a court of non-religious Jews who force a husband against his will to give his wife a GET it is a sin, a LAV, to use that court to force the wife to give a GET. This is clearly stated in Choshen Mishpot 26A: It is forbidden to adjudicate before gentile judges, in their courts, even if the court adjudicates exactly as the Torah commands. And even if both parties agree to go to the gentiles it is forbidden. And whoever comes to be judged by them is a wicked person ROSHO. And is one who curses and insults and raised his hand against the Torah of Moshe," The Ramo continues with hideous curses of that person. We have also in Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer 77:2 that all commentators, the Vilna Gaon at great length and Beis Shmuel, etc. that it is forbidden to pressure a husband to give a GET in way way. The Vilna Gaon says that based upon the gemora in Kesubose 63b bottom Tosfose at length, it is forbidden to force a GET period. The Vilna Gaon says that today all agree about this, although there were once some who permitted forcing a GET such as Rambam and Rashbam. However, the Tosfose in Kesubose is proof that it is forbidden to force a husband to give a GET and all five authorities on the page there agree that it is forbidden.Thus a woman who forces her husband to give her a GET in any way, and surely in a secular court, has sinned and her GET is invalid, and is probably a problem for her children who may be mamzerim. See Rashbo volume VII:414 "We never force a GET to divorce his wife. If he wishes, he divorces her. And if he doesn't wish to do so, he doesn't divorce her." This pesak is accepted by all commentators in the above Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer 77:2. This surely includes a woman who forces her husband in a gentile or secular court even with irreligious Jews or those not familiar properly with laws of Gittin who are not a proper and accepted Beth Din. I heard from my rebbe Reb Yosef Shalom Elyashev zt"l that any Beth Din that permits a woman to escape her husband with an invalid GET has lost its reputation as a proper Beth Din and he and other major rabbonim in Israel in the sefer Mishpotei Yisroel say that such a woman who received an invalid or forced GET must go to a different Beth Din, not the invalid Beth Din, and receive a proper GET that is not forced. There are rare cases, mentioned in Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer, when a husband acts in such a terrible manner that Beth Din may decide to force him to give a GET. But that means a proper Beth Din of Jews, not a secular court. And it is rare.

Yehoishophot Oliver, I hope this helps!
Shalom,
Dovid Eidensohn
845-578-1917

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