Jewish Marriage Dissolution: Annulment, Repudiation, and Divorce
3. Annulment and Dissolution.
For the Jewish religion, all issues affecting marriages should be resolved in courts composed of three rabbis, rabbinic authorities in the laws of marriage and divorce according to Jewish law.
Annulment: In addition to the assumptions of impairments and disability, the Jewish marriage may be invalid because of flaws in the agreement or form. For example, in the absence of a ceremony or serious defect in the same, such as the lack of two competent witnesses, for breach of a condition or defect present, and simulation in the presentation of consent information. However, void is not a widely used resource, not usually occur judgments of invalidity, as if a marriage incurs some cause for revocation, we present the evidence before the Rabbinical Court to bind the parties to dissolve the marriage.
Dissolution: The Jewish marriage is permanent, hence in principle, it is estimated that the current marriage belongs to a lifetime. However, it is the solution if there is any cause so dictate or if they deem the parties. To preserve the union, the Rabbinical Court should try by all means the reconciliation of the parties, will not get out the solution. Besides the case of death involving the natural dissolution of marriage, this may occur either by a decision of the husband (divorce) or by imposing the judicial authority (divorce). Both concepts are different depending on the use of one or other of the proceedings and cause dissolution.
Repudiation: It is the husband’s ability to end the marriage. In accordance with the Torah, by presenting the get with the husband present and giving it to his wife to produce instantly the dissolution of the bond that united them. However, to prevent carrying out repudiation, rabbis have been forming rules and regulations concerning the development, delivery, and acceptance of this document in order to hinder rejection to some extent. In addition to completing any solution, it requires consultation and involvement of a rabbinic authority, which seeks to ensure adequate compliance with the requirements and arrangements for it. This ability to unilaterally break the link to respond to a just cause that is relevant does not mean that this decision may be arbitrary but can produce the condemnation of less significant reasons.
Among the causes of divorce provided can include the following: or suspected adultery, apostasy, public customs violation, refusal to debit marriage, infertility, incurable disease, contagious or mental occurrence, etc. One of the most important causes is the inability to have children in a period of 10 years. After this time, if no children, the husband has every right to divorce his wife. This law is not a requirement, so the husband can decide to continue the marriage union despite the inability to procreate. Despite being the dissolution medium, Jewish marriage tends to remain so before proceeding with the dissolution, the court must seek reconciliation of the parties. If this is not possible, simply verify that both parties agree with the dissolution of marriage that statutory requirements that it demands and that the husband has fulfilled the obligations imposed under the ketubah, including the payment of a sum for the solution, otherwise, the Bet Din or rabbinical court continued with the dissolution ceremony. The solution was produced following a formal ceremony in which it delivers the get or document of divorce, being present in addition to the Rabbinical Court, a scribe, and two witnesses. It is understandable that in order to terminate a previous contract (ketubah), it is necessary to sign a new contract of marriage dissolution of the partnership formed with the first.
The get must be written expressly for the specific case presented by an expert, (type) in Aramaic and Hebrew. Must be signed by two witnesses who cannot have any relation to the spouses or each other, to be pious and observant people of religion contained in the get, the most relevant data and agreements of the solution. The man gives the woman the get in the presence of the Court, although they may be through a representative if unable to be present, and the two witnesses. So it can be stated that the ceremony is required to be carried to the Court and with the presence of a scribe and two witnesses.
To produce effective dissolution, both parties must sign the get. This is torn, symbolizing that it has already been used and cannot be reused and retained by the Court, in a permanent file, giving each party an official letter of release (ry) justifying the dissolution conducted. Both spouses are freed to remarry, but the woman must wait 90 days before remarrying to avoid conflicts of parenthood.
By signing, the woman pays his authorization to the solution, strictly and according to tradition, is the husband who decides the solution and the woman must accept mandatory. However, this is a formality and that in practice, both parties must consent voluntarily. In fact, the court made the husband and the wife a certain number of routine questions to make sure free will consent to the divorce action. So the husband does not enjoy complete freedom to divorce his wife against her will, but that it must allow that solution. Even if the woman refuses to give consent if just cause like is reversed, the rabbinical court may pressure women to accept it and even be negative if the granting of a dispensation to the husband.
Moreover, although generally the initiative should have her husband divorce, more liberal Jews conceive that women can initiate proceedings. This shall be done only when there is a legally established cause of her husband’s infidelity, apostasy, refusal of sex, sterility, which makes work unpleasant husband cohabitation, habitual cruelty, illness or infirmity, refusal to support, etc. In these cases, she can request the Rabbinical Court to intervene to dissolve the marriage by repudiation. Also, the husband may request directly from the rejection, although this custom is inconsistent with the spirit of the Act and referred to in underserved communities compliance Observer standards (reformers).
However, even in this case, the presentation of the get is for the husband. The woman can take care of writing, but must give it to her husband for who he is present, or use the Rabbinic Court to push him to grant it. However, in no case shall the repudiation without the consent of the husband for a get given under duress is void. If nevertheless, the husband refuses to give the get to the wife, she and the children you have with another man may be in a lawless situation as not being legally divorced after children will be unable to mamzer and marriage if not with one of equal status. Despite being unilateral, the repudiation must establish the consent of both parties, which consent must be given freely.
There is also a repudiation of mutual agreement, in which the decision to dissolve the marriage part of a previous agreement between both spouses. To Jewish law, express mutual desire to dissolve the marriage is sufficient cause to grant such a dissolution.
Divorce: when the solution is not of the parties, it is ordered by the Rabbinical Court. It occurs when the marriage has incurred one of the reasons provided by law. For example, the existence of any impediment prohibitive. In these cases, the Court, acting ex officio or upon request, to pronounce the dissolution of marriage, even against the will of one or both parties.
Dissolution by Death: If death is observed, no problem, acquiring spouse widowed status/a. The issue is different in case of the disappearance of a spouse, no reliable confirmation of his death, for the alleged declaration of death is not referred to by Jewish law, hence not fit to remarry but provides no evidence of death. In this case, the husband may have a special permit, but she will be declared Aguná and, not being divorced or widowed, have the condition, cannot remarry and have children with another man, these will be mamzer. To remedy this situation, they tend to allow less stringent tests of death. Thus, for example, supports the testimony of one person (when demand usually two), a woman or a non-Jew (they normally not recognized) and even of one’s wife (though she leaves benefited from the declaration of presumed death)