was also condoned in Northern Europe , although halitzah became the norm in northern Europe ; there was no complete resolution to this question.*
A woman had to be divorced or a second wife taken, if she remained barren after ten years according to the Mishnah which after all based itself on the Biblical command“be fruitful and multiply." After some initial discussion such exceptions were not permitted for this reason in northern Europe. **
A wife’s insanity or her conversion to Christianity both of which made divorce impossible led to the suspension of the herem. It was similarly not enforced when the conduct of the wife demanded a divorce according to talmudic law, but she was unwilling to accept it In northern Europe the authorities were reluctant to make any exceptions to the herem after the first generations, but they did occur. In the Sephardic lands nothing changed.
DIVORCE
Let us begin with a discussion to divorce in Judaism and then turn to the issue of civil versus religious jurisdiction. As divorce when granted by the male, has always been easy and as this question did not deal with the rights of women in marriage, itis the second clause which deals with French law versus Jewish law which may be troublesome.
Judaism looks upon divorce with sadness (Git . 90b; San. 22a) but recognizes that it might occur. It makes divorce easy and simple, when the parties are no longer compatible, in keeping with the Biblical statement (Deut 24:1- 2). According to the Talmud , divorce could be given by a man for virtually any reason, even the most minor one(Git. 90a). This was subsequently restricted according to the decree of Rabbenu Gershom (Shulhan Arukh, Even Ha-ezer 119.6). A divorce always originated with the husband, and the wife accepted the