We the undersigned wish to state that we sympathize and empathize with the plight of women who are having difficulty obtaining gittin and are trapped in dead marriages by unscrupulous or cruel husbands. There is no halachic justification for husbands to engage in this type of activity, and we condemn it with every fiber of our beings.
It is our concern for these women that motivates us to speak out at this time about a potential danger to these women that can have serious and tragic consequences for them and for their entire community.
Recently, an individual by the name of Rabbi Moshe Morgenstern, who heretofore has had no affiliation with any recognized Beth Din, nor has recently served in the active rabbinate, has advertised the ability of his "Beth Din" to annul Jewish marriages. He claims to be supported by Gedolai Yisroel in general, and in particular by the eminent Posek, Rav Ovadia Yosef, shlita.
Please be aware that his so-called Beth Din does not follow proper Get procedure. The annulments and/or heterim to remarry issued by his so-called Beth Din are carried out in halachically illegitimate ways. We are certain that virtually no Orthodox rabbi would be willing to officiate at weddings of women who wish to remarry based upon Rabbi Morgenstern’s heterim. His claim that he follows the teachings of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, is false and misleading. The prohibition of adultery and the stigma of mamzerus for their offspring loom ominously before women who would indeed remarry by virtue of these heterim.
Rav Ovadia Yosef has issued an unusually strong public statement denouncing Rabbi Morgenstern’s actions, denying ever having supported him. Furthermore, Rav Yosef requests that the American rabbinate inform the public of the damage that can be done by this type of irresponsible behavior, and to urge women in the strongest terms possible to refrain from going to this so-called Beth Din.
In conclusion we beseech the public to seek out competent Batei Din for the resolution of these matters, and we implore Hashem to hearken to the tears of anguished women throughout the world and bring about their redemption as well as the redemption of the entire Jewish nation.
Yosef Adler
Rabbi, Cong. Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ
Shimon Alouf
Rabbi, Cong. Ahaba VeAhva, Bklyn, NY
Kenneth Auman
Rabbi, Young Israel of Flatbush, Bklyn, NY
Hershel Billet
Rabbi, Young Israel of Woodmere, Woodmere, NY
Binyamin Blau
Rabbi, Community & Beth Din, Elizabeth, NJ
Alfred Cohen
Rabbi, Cong. Ohave Yisroel, Monsey, NY
Reuven Fink
Rabbi, Young Israel of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY
Menachem Genack
Rabbi, Cong. Shomrei Emunah, Englewood, NJ
Shmuel Goldin
Rabbi, Cong. Ahavath Torah, Englewood, NJ
Baruch Ben Haim
Chacham, Cong. Shaare Zion, Bklyn, NY
Shlomo Hochberg
Rabbi, Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Est., NY
Avraham Kanarek
Rabbi, Cong. Beth Tefilla, Paramus, NJ
Efraim Kanarfogel
Rabbi, Beth Aaron Cong., Teaneck, NJ
Simcha Krauss
Rabbi, Young Israel of Hillcest, Flushing, NY
Yaakov Lerner
Rabbi, Young Israel of Great Neck, Great Neck, NY
Milton Polin
Rabbi Emeritus, Kingsway Jewish Center, Bklyn, NY
Steven Pruzansky
Rabbi, Cong. Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ
Jonathan Rosenblatt
Riverdale Jewish Center, Riverdale, NY
Asher Schechter
Rabbi, Cong. Ahavas Achim, Fairlawn, NJ
Fabian Schonfeld
Rabbi, Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Max Schreier
Rabbi, Avenue N Jewish Center, Bklyn, NY
Peretz Steinberg
Rabbi, Young Israel Queens Valley, Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Michael Taubes
Rabbi, Kehilas Tzemach Dovid, Teaneck, NJ
Moshe Tendler
Rabbi, Community Synagogue, Monsey, NY
Elazar Mayer Teitz
Rabbi, Community and Beth Din, Elizabeth, NJ
Eliyahu Teitz
Rabbi, Community and Beth Din, Elizabeth, NJ
Feivel Wagner
Rabbi, Young Israel of Forest Hills, Forest Hills, NY
Herschel Welcher
Rabbi, Cong. Ahavas Yisroel, Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Mordechai Willig
Rabbi, Young Israel of Riverdale, Riverdale, NY
Neil Winkler
Rabbi, Young Israel of Fort Lee, NJ, Fort Lee, NJ
Benjamin Yudin
Rabbi, Cong. Shomrei Torah, Fairlawn, NJ