Over the years we have had many discussions of the problem of women who
want to leave their marriages but their husband refuses to give them a Get for
various reasons. While we have some significant disagreements in the realm of
halacha, I acknowledge there has always been one person - Rabbi Jeremy Stern and his
organization ORA - that has consistently taken the side of the woman. He has
sincerely devoted much effort to try and help anyone who claims to be an aguna.
He has organized public demonstrations of hundreds of people to try and help a
wife obtain her Get. He is very knowledgeable about the use of the media and
how to create maximum pressure on the husband and his family to produce a Get. The
common denominator in all those that he tries to help is that they are all
women. They are viewed by Rabbi Stern and his halachic advisor Rav Herschel
Schecter as being victims of the husband,
apathy of the public or rabbis who lack their commonsense human sensitivity to
suffering.
In short, I am sure if I called up Rabbi Stern at 3 a.m. and
told him there was a woman who needed help – he would immediate start working
on finding a solution.
So why haven't we heard from him, ORA or Rav Herschel
Schecter regarding the false heter that Tamar received? Why haven't they
organized public demonstrations against Rav Greenblatt or the Kaminetskys? Why
doesn't the fact that Tamar is now committing adultery as the result of
rabbinic incompetence cause them to be outraged? Isn't Tamar also a suffering
victim? Aren't they bothered by the major corruption of the halachic process that has taken place. Why don't they heed the call of Rav Sternbuch and other rabbis to protest the disgrace to the Torah?
It can't be that they don't know about it. It can't be that
they are unaware of the elementary halachic errors used to justify the
"heter". Even more obvious is that they can not be unaware that
the psychological "evidence"
used to justify the "heter" is total nonsense.
Perhaps they claim they are working behind the scenes to
rectify the error? Or perhaps that they are worried for the loss of emunas
chachomim because big rabbis made a terrible error? Perhaps they think the case
should be covered up to prevent a chilul haShem of Titanic proportion? Highly
unlikely.
Or perhaps they are afraid to publicize that the advice that
rabbis give to women sometimes is wrong. Perhaps they don't want to acknowledge
that not every strategy that seems to help women get out of a marriage is
correct.
It seems that they are paralyzed because the protest against
the heter is a protest against their categorical feminist focus and they simply
can't do it. If this "heter" is wrong – people might starting
thinking other heterim are also wrong.
Rabbi Stern - please prove me wrong. Please stand up and protest Tamar's plight.
In the post about Rav Shternbuch's protests, he writes that there is too little protest on this matter. He means in the hareidi world. So you can hardly expect it to come instead from the left MO world. The question is more appropriately directed at the Feinsteins and Auerbachs of this world.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Column
ReplyDeleteRemember that it was ORA who two years ago issued the Mazel tov announcement congratulating Tamar on her being free to remarry.
ReplyDeleteUntil Rav Sholom and his father come out unequivocally against the psak, every feminist MO "rabbi" is going to hang onto this with both hands. The lack of any substantive statement out of Philly speaks volumes, and basically amounts to approval of the psak. Before asking a joker like Stern to come out against the psak, we should be demanding that the chareidi Roshei Yeshiva state their position clearly.
ReplyDeleteThere are real Aguna’s out there who suffer from abusive vindictive men who withhold a Get just because they can or as ransom for money that they are not entitled to. But what is being shown in this saga is that the reverse happens as well. And the abuse suffered by Aharon in this case is not isolated, but played out many a time against men who don’t have the resolve to stand up for themselves.
ReplyDeleteSo to Herschel Schecter, Jeremy Stern, Dovid Cohen and the like - abusive women are not automatically entitled to a Get when they take that which does not belong to them.
This case shows the folly of ORA how they blindly only advocate for one side. Herschel Schecter & Jeremy Stern should come out from under the rock that they are currently hiding under with the mega phone and publicly ask for mechila from Aharon in every location that they publicly embarrassed him.
Come on Jeremy the world is watching and waiting to hear from you.
Rav Auerbach hints MORE to the Moetset than anyone else. ORA man dechar shmei, they are shoresh poreh rosh vela'ano, ve'em kol chatos.
ReplyDeleteDear R' Doniel E N.Yoir, kindly post this ASAP before the closing for Shabbat.
On a happier note, I ask all my brethren and all my sisteren to do a great Mitzvah lekovod Shem Shomayim and lekoved Shabbat. Please wish here on this blog before things close up for R' Aharon F. a Bo Shabbos bo Menucho, and that we have him in our hearts and our prayers, hashem yishmor oiso mikol tsoro umtsiko vetsa'ar, to be zoiche to see lots of NACHAS from his daughter bimheiro.
R' Aharon, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We The People of Klall Yisroel we are all mishtatef and feel your pain, our hearts go out for you, we stand behind you and are with you all the way! Have a WONDERFUL and LOVELY SHABBOS bimnuchas hanefesh!!! AMEN
The main point is missing: What does Rabbi Herschel Schachter think about Tamar's remarriage? Is he silent? If he is, then he acquiesces in it. And if he does, why should his disciples at ORA disagree and protest?
ReplyDeleteORA is taught by Rabbi Schachter to torment husbands and their families to force a GET, which the Shulcan Aruch clearly states is an invalid GET. Gedolim in Israel such as Reb Shmuel Wosner and Reb Chain Kaniveski negate the status of Beth Din for a Beth Din that coerces the husband, something I heard in person from HaGaon Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashev zt"l. Is it then any wonder that ORA because of Rabbi H. Schachter does not follow the Shulchan Aruch regarding forcing a GET so why should they follow the Shulchan Aruch regarding negating a marriage?
At the end of the day you and rabbi e are combining two issues that to you seem like the same and perhaps there is merit to that however to most people it is a separate issue and when you combine them people choose not be involved.
ReplyDeleteThe first and primary issue is the heter that R Kaminetzky applied and how he did it in a tricky unauthorized matter. This needs to be protested and stopped. The other issues of why her husband doesn't need to give a get or why Mendel Epstein is wrong should really be a separate discussion because that is not as one sided as you make it seem. By putting all issues together people think the same way Aron should really give a get and just end this nonsense or the same way Epstein had some Halacha backing (even if we don't normally follow that) maybe R Kametzty is also not so far off.
Kudos to RDE for standing up to Jeremy Stern, the gangster who has procured unkosher gittin with feminist mafioso gittin
ReplyDeletestern
Arthur – You are missing the point entirely. The reason why Aharon has not yet given a Get yet is because he has been the one subjected to abuse by the Epstein/Kaminetsky families. It has been well documented on this blog how the Epstein team manipulated the Bais Din and the courts. It has been well documented on this blog how the letters written by R Shmuel Kaminetsky saying that Aharon was “mechyuv to give a Get” had no basis in Halacha nor were the
ReplyDeletedemonstrations that R Shmuel authorized in his letters. There was a post just the other day which had the court testimony given by Tamars lawyer, Fred Goldfine, how the siruv that R Shmuel signed onto along with “Rabbis” who are now convicted criminals, was nothing more than a paid for backroom deal.
Tamer Epstein and her team manufactured her into an aguna
through lies and intimidation. Now five years later the façade is coming crumbling down. In the near future hopefully the entire world will see the injustice that was done.
This is the discussion why Mendel Epstein is wrong. Just because
a woman with money can pay for a seruv and a psak kefia doesn’t make her morally or Halachically right when she was the one that walked out of Bais Din because she didn’t like how the Bais Din was going to rule.
So no, nobody is putting these issues aside. This is about one issue – absolute corruption. It is about time that the knee jerk reaction
isn’t let the man give a Get and let his Halachic rights be damned.
Well Said!
ReplyDeleteRav Shachter must be in a very awkward position
ReplyDeleteYou are missing my point. Ask yourself the following question. If the biggest issues is the fact that Tamar remarried without a get then only two things should be focused on. Let Aron just give the get and demonstrate that the heter from R Kamenetzky is a scam. And these are the two things everyone agrees on. Once you start bringing in Epstien and seruvs from 5 years ago which contrary to this blog are not as simple as you think you will get nowhere and help no one.
ReplyDeleteArthur - your point makes no sense and blatantly ignores the facts which have been compiled here.
ReplyDeleteWe are dealing with the corruption of the halachic process which has to be fully exposed and acknowledged to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Your claim that things are not as simple as we think - needs to be supported by evidence -which you conveniently forgot to mention.
There is no reason Aharon should give Tamar a Get prior to her first resolving the outstanding issues in the gittin (divorce) case in beis din between her and her husband. She left beis din prior to the completion of the case, specifically regarding the custody/visitation issues. And the issuing of the Get is the last step in the beis din halachic process during a divorce proceeding. Since the beis din case hasn't concluded it is too early to issue the Get. And indeed the beis din, for these very reasons, has yet never told the husband to issue a Get.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, this group endorsed the false annulment by immediately declaring "Mazal tov! Tamar is free!"
ReplyDeleteI am not interested in providing evidence for an opinion I don't support. the fact remains that there were sources provided to support their activities even though you have stronger sources which you claim say otherwise. The biggest travesty which is the supposed heter is what needs to be focused on at this point for obvious reasons. And I believe that most of your readers and most people recognize that and when u start talking about Get procedures from five years ago it's no wonder so many issues go unresolved.
ReplyDeleteArthur
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the two issues that need to be focused on.
1) Let Tamar fix the wrong that she has done to Aharon so that he can give the Get.
2) Let's demonstrate against the the scam Heter.
in the אוצר החכמה thread someone mentions that he spoke out to his talmidim very sharply AGAINST the heter.
ReplyDeleteHe should be next on the cymbol after stimat hagollel of current rodfei shalmonim fiasco. In all of these scandals, there is the money factor driving force. Do not think for one moment that it has anything to do with sympathy, for if so, don't our dear brothers deserve sympathy just as well. A whole bunch of fakers from all the way to the top, and the starts to stink from the head. We are yet to see the French connection of the so called rabonim that were complicit in sharing of the bloody pie at the upcoming sentencing of Rav Tabachim mendel Epstein in Dec. Why do they do it? Just because they can. Have you no shame? Have you no decency? Bizayon
ReplyDeleteKedei lehotsi miliban shel tsedokim, you have to make a complete biur with no wiggle room left, kaasher yevaer hagollol ad tumom.
ReplyDeletedo you have a link?
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.otzar.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24608&sid=48042428f9f7c420d17a85382a03758f&start=200
ReplyDeletea comment from "יוסף משה":
במכתב המצורף הרב גרינבלט טוען שסמך על אחרים וכו'. אז הרב קמנצקי סמך על
הרב גרינבלט והרב גרינבלט סמך על הבן של הרב קמנצקי. מוזר מאוד.
גם
נודע לי שהרב צבי (הרשל) שכטר, שנחשב לסמכות עליונה בחוגי ה"מודרן
אורתודוקס" היותר תורניים בארה"ב, שהוא עצמו חתם על מכתב נגד הבעל לפני כמה
שנים על סירובו להוציא את אשתו מכבלי עגינותה, גינה את ההיתר בפני תלמידיו
בחריפות יוצאת דופן.
I can't guarantee its reliable. The אוצר החכמה threads however seem to be on a very high caliber, with many Rabbonim participating and sharing their erudite knowledge without name-calling
If "Tamar Epstein" were substituted for "Israel Meir Kin" in this article
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/israel_meir_kin_is_a_threat_to_all_jewish_women
do you think ORA would agree?