anything to browbeat religious observance. No wonder Israel is going down the tubes fast.

- Husband becomes religious - Wife doesn't want to be religious - Rabbi puts husband in jail for wanting to keep his family together Did the rabbi put him in jail because he didn't want him to be with non-observant wife? Was the guy just being a jerk and not giving his wife a get? and is there more to the story that wasn't written?

Finally the courts have seen reason. I'm thrilled for this woman that things worked out in her favor.

sufficient details in this case.

The rabbis want to keep this man religious i.e. one of their minions so they allow his wife to have her freedom. However, the main thing is that she is free of both her husband and the rabbis. And she's got her kids.

far. This is how the Rabbinical Court was meant to work from the very beginning - if the husband refuses to grant a divorce, the court may do what it has in its power to force him to do so - from taking away his state-issued documentation (driver's license, passport) to placing him in prison for several months. What amazed me in this story is one thing only - that the husband didn't appeal the arrest warrant, as so often happens, to take the matter away from the Rabbinical Court and prevent it from issuing its strictest punishments. Oh, and for those not keeping up - from the Halachic perspective, the husband was entirely at fault. The husband should have tried to keep Shlom Ba'it by not forcing his wife to follow his strict way of life. You can't force a spouse to become religious in this manner - if it's a matter of keeping the family together or keeping an entirely religious household, the balance tilts heavily toward keeping the family together. That's not quite what the husband had in mind, apparently, and as the wife was intent on a divorce and had ample grounds for it - hubby was arrested for being a jerk.

i wonder how this guy was "becoming closer to G-d, and at the same time putting his wife though hell. hilul hashem

unequally yoked with an unbeliever. It can be God's permissive will, but not His directive will. The book, "Pilgrim's Progress", the second most widely read book in history after the Bible shows that the wife left the husband behind when she turned to the Lord. He eventually caught up, but separation was their fate and life. In this situation, the husband is ahead of the wife religiously and she will go her own way or catch up later when he is no longer available. That is too bad because God hates divorce according to Malachi the Prophet. He hates divorce because God wants righteous offspring. Divorce makes it difficult for the children to be righteous. It makes them rebel, as the mother will learn. She wants a sad life in the long run, not just an unregulated life.

As outsiders we don't know the entire story, except for what YNet reported here. There isn't enough information to judge who's right and who's wrong. A sad fact is that the woman bears the burden of maintaining a religous home. So, if it is suddenly pushed on a woman who isn't ready for it, or willing, it could easily become too much. We had a situation like this in my family, where a husband suddenly became religious. He was never home anymore, always at the temple (in the US), snubbed his wife's parents because they weren't religious enough, made impossible demands of the couple's children, who until then were raised secular,. He gave no guidance, only put demands on his wife and kids. The couple divorced. Oh, and the children didn't join peace now, they just don't live an ultra orthodox lifestyle.

I am confused. How does a religion jail? Anyone know? It seems odd that fanatical Rabis would leave the children to be brought up in a non-cult home. The woman must have some heavy secular weight behind her.

Good for her!!

who the heck are the rabbi's to send a man in jail. We are a democracy, not Iran! The same rabbi's don't let me openly practice my lesbian lifestyle.

then told her he wanted to marry someone who was "more Jewish". He is a lawyer named Josh in Ohio I want to go to hell someday. The precious woman he abandoned many years ago never married and is now 35 years old. He killed something in her and she can no longer trust "love" to last. Animals are better to women than a lot of males (I cannot call them men).

He became religious while they were separated. Afterward they both decided to try reconciliation. She knew that she was experimenting with a religious lifestyle. It did not work out.

Irit, I must be missing something. I am not aware that homosexuality is againstn the law in the state of Israel. Nor am I aware of any gays or lesbians as you say "practicing" in secret for fear of rabbinical action. So practice away. Nobody is going to bother you.