Agunot Questions and Reform Jewish Answers, New York , 1992,# 234

Walter Jacob

QUESTION: Should we marry women considered agunot by Orthodox rabbis?(Martin Cohen, Los Angeles , CA )

ANSWER: In the long span of Jewish history, aside from the nor­mal problems and aggravated circumstances surrounding divorce, the chief issue has been that of the agunah, a status caused by the disappearance of the husband or by his refusal to provide a religious divorce(get) for his wife. The second problem has often been solved through communal pressure, which stopped short of actually forcing a get, as that would not be legally valid (Solomon ben Aderet Responsa W#40; Simon ben Zemah Duran Responsa 11#68; Tur and Shulhan Arukh Even Haezer 134 and 154; Responsa Reanana#43; Responsa Mabit 11#138; Piskei Din shel Batei Hadin Harabanim, vol. 2, pp 300 ff).

Much more difficult is the problem of a husband who dis­appeared. Usually in the past this condition occurred when the husband had disappeared in time of war or during a long jour­ney to distant lands. Despite a presumption of death, as it could not be proven, the wife continued to be considered as married. During the period of heavy eastern European emigration to the United States and other western lands, some men were lost at sea or in the wild West, whereas others slipped away and thus relieved themselves of family responsibilities. In modern times, in addition to these cases of a agunah, we have thousands of Orthodox women whose husbands simply refuse to provide a their wives with no solution. After civil courts

get and leave persuasion can be exer­

have dissolved the marriage, only moral cised on the husband, and that is frequently difficult because of the hostility which exists between the individuals. Although some states, for example New York , now recognize the obliga­tions of a ketubah and would enforce its provision until a get had