Marriage contract brings hope to women
Dear bride-to-be, afraid you might remain an aguna or victim of a get-refusal? Sign the prenuptial 'Contract for Just and Fair Marriage'
I managed to ease her mind when I showed her the new and abridged Contract for Just and Fair Marriage of the Center for Women's Justice, which is made up of two parts. The first part is designed to ameliorate the problem of get refusal; and the second part is meant to prevent the problem of aginut (when a husband has abandoned his wife or is incapacitated and unable to give her a get).
The contract is actually a condensed version of two different prenuptial agreements that were put together on a single paper: that of the late Prof Rozen-Zvi regarding get-refusal, and the main points of the Tripartate Agreement written by US Rabbi Broyde that would thwart aginut (for purposes of clarification: Rabbi Broyde did not approve of our condensed version).
This new contract is user-friendly and has only four clauses, the first three of which are quite similar to other prenuptial agreements on the market. The first clause maintains that each party may demand the distribution of marital property prior to the delivery of the get; the second clause states that the party that refuses to give or accept the get will pay increased spousal support to the requesting party; the third clause in the agreement explicitly says that all disputed divorce-related issues shall be addressed by a family court. There’s a place under these clauses where the bride and groom are supposed to sign in the presence of a notary or marriage registrar. These clauses are valid under Israeli law , and they could be enforced by a family court and the execution office, if, God forbid, the couple should come to that.
It is the fourth clause that is new and daring. In it, the couple declares that: their marriage will hold for as long as they do not separate for more than 18 consecutive months;that they agree to nullify their marriage should they actually separate; and that the groom may assign an agent to deliver the get.
These three points have been raised individually in Jewish sources at various times as ways to solve the problem of agunot, but each solution was rejected by our rabbis for a variety of reasons. The innovation of the Contract for Just and Fair Marriage is that it combines the three points together. This clause should be signed by the newlyweds before two persons who would be valid witnesses under Jewish law .
The good news is that this last clause could resolve all the problems of aginut and get-refusal put together because, from now on, the wife could ask for and receive a get without citing any cause of action, against the husband's will, and even in his absence. The bad news is that the rabbinic judges do not as of yet accept this proposal as a legitimate solution.
We, on the other hand, are optimistic and believe that the good news is better than the bad news is bad. We are certain that if more and more people indeed sign the Contract for a Just and Fair Marriage, its proposed solutions will slowly sink into the consciousness of those rabbis who conduct marriages and divorces, and they will eventually accept it. The first couple (both lawyers) signed the agreement a few weeks ago, a second couple signed last week, and interest in it is rising daily.
So, mazal tov to all the newlyweds, and do not forget to sign the Contract for Just and Fair Marriage.
Rivkah Lubitch is a rabbinical court pleader at the Center for Women’s Justice, tel: 02-566-4390
