Gittin and Agunot 1991

Jun 1, 1991 — VI. GITTIN AND AGUNOT

Whereas the majority of Jewish marriages ending in divorce do not terminate their marriage by means of a halachically acceptable get (Jewish divorce) and

Whereas there are men and women who use the get as a weapon in order to extract various concessions from their spouses and cause great suffering thereby, as well as causing chillul Hashem in the community.

Therefore, the Rabbinical Council of America, in convention assembled,

A. urges our chaverim to inform and encourage all professionals involved
with divorcing couples — rabbis not members of the RCA, marriage
counselors, attorneys and others — to influence their clients and congregants to use a get halachically acceptable to all, thus alleviating the potential problems of mamzerut (illegitimacy).
B. the Rabbinical Council of America calls upon our Halacha committee to
continue their deliberations toward developing a legally and halachically acceptable pre- and/or post-nuptial contract in the hope that the results of these deliberations will be shared with the membership at the next convention.
C. the Rabbinical Council of America condemns in the strongest terms the use
of a get or the withholding thereof to extract concessions from a spouse.
D. the Rabbinical Council of America calls upon our members to use all means
at their disposal to persuade recalcitrant spouses to agree to a get.
E. the Rabbinical Council of America will explore the establishment of a
national data base of all spouses unable to obtain a get.
F. the Rabbinical Council of America calls upon all batei din to invoke all halachically acceptable measures, with an esthetic personal demeanor, to ease administrative processes to alleviate the plight of couples appearing before them in matters of divorce. We recommend that batei din explore the appointment of male and female counselors to be present before, during and after the get proceedings to assist with the couple’s emotional and informational needs. We also call upon the batei din, with the concurrence of the couple, to invite the congregational rabbi to be present at the proceedings.