Agunot: What's Being Done, and What You Can Do

Please jump over to  The Rebbetzin's Husband, who gives us a crucial reminder of all the successful, behind-the-scenes efforts to release women from their recalcitrant husbands.   With every success, you have turned a family's world back around, strengthened the community, and restored the faith and hope of many.

(By the way, the same thing also happens in my line of work... we hear about all the tragedies, but in reality 80% of pediatric cancer patients survive their illnesses.  We, too, have to remember to constantly inform the public of our successes, in order to balance out the pain of the failures).

Meanwhile, on the aguna / msurvot get front, there is much work to do.   Jameel has photos up on The Muqata.  Finding these guys brings the women one step closer to freedom (until we manage to institutionalize the solution), and now we have the technology to advance the issue.  It was heartwarming to hear that the Rabbinate as an institution is taking a step in the right direction, in addition to the many efforts, large and small, of rabbis all over the world.

For the record, That Guy I Married and I set up not one, but two pre-nups:  one with the Beit Din (Rabbinical court) and one with the secular Israeli court system.  Then, soon after the wedding, we let all our friends know we had these agreements, with a full explanation of how we arranged for them.  May we never need them.

Keep the balance,

ALN