(1) When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it cometh to pass, if she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he writeth her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house
(א) אין האשה מתגרשת אלא בכתב שיגיע לה וכתב זה הוא הנקרא גט. ועשרה דברים הן עיקר הגירושין מן התורה ואלו הן. שלא יגרש האיש אלא ברצונו. ושיגרש בכתב ולא בדבר אחר. ושיהיה ענין הכתב שגרשה והסירה מקניינו. ושיהיה עניינו דבר הכורת בינו לבינה. ושיהיה נכתב לשמה. ושלא יהיה מחוסר מעשה אחר כתיבתו אלא נתינתו לה [בלבד]. ושיתנהו לה. שיתנהו לה בפני עדים. ושיתנהו לה בתורת גירושין. ושיהיה הבעל או שלוחו הוא שנותנו לה. ושאר הדברים שבגט כגון הזמן וחתימת העדים וכיוצא בהן הכל מדברי סופרים.
(1) [1] A woman may be divorced only by means of a writ that reaches her, and this writ is called a get. According to the Torah, there are ten rules that are basic to divorce, and they are as follows: that the man may not divorce his wife except of his own free will; that he must give a divorce by means of a writ, and not by means of anything else... that it must be written specifically for her... that he must deliver it to her; that he must deliver it to her in the presence of witnesses; that he must give it to her as an instrument of divorce; that it must be the husband, or his agent, who gives it to her...
(א) ...אמר רבי יוחנן בן נורי: מפני מה האשה שנתחרשה יוצאה, והאיש שנתחרש אינו מוציא. אמרו לו: אינו דומה האיש המגרש לאשה המתגרשת, שהאשה יוצאה לרצונה ושלא לרצונה והאיש אינו מוציא אלא לרצונו.
(1) Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said: Why can a woman who becomes deaf be removed, but a man who becomes deaf cannot remove [his wife]? They said to him: A man who divorces is not similar to a woman who is divorced, for the woman goes out with her consent or without her consent, but a man can only remove [his wife] with his consent.
(ב) ומניין שעשרה דברים אלו מן התורה. שנאמר והיה אם לא תמצא חן בעיניו וכתב לה ספר כריתות ונתן בידה ושלחה מביתו. אם לא תמצא חן בעיניו. מלמד שאינו מגרש אלא ברצונו. ואם נתגרשה שלא ברצונו אינה מגורשת. אבל האשה מתגרשת ברצונה ושלא ברצונה.
(2) • [2] And from where to we know that these ten rules are derived from the Torah? From this verse (Deuteronomy 24:1) "[If] she fails to please him, because he finds something unseemly about her, he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house."
מתני' גט מעושה בישראל כשר ובעובדי כוכבים פסול ובעובדי כוכבים חובטין אותו ואומרים לו עשה מה שישראל אומרים לך (וכשר): גמ' אמר ר"נ אמר שמואל גט המעושה בישראל כדין כשר שלא כדין פסול ופוסל ובעובדי כוכבים כדין פסול ופוסל שלא כדין אפי' ריח הגט אין בו
Mishna: A forced get in Israel [a Jewish beit din] is kosher and by gentiles [non-Jewish courts] is invalid, but the gentiles can flog him [the get-refuser] and say, "Do what the Jewish courts tell you to do" (and this is kosher).
Gemara: Rabbi Nahman said in the name of Samuel: A Get given under compulsion [enforced] by an Israelite court with good legal ground is valid, but if it is without sufficient legal ground, it is invalid, but it still disqualifies [the woman for a priest]. If enforced by a gentile court on good legal grounds, it is invalid but disqualifies; if without sufficient legal ground, there is no whiff of a Get about it.
...And so it is with regard to the get of women: Force is applied to him until he says, "I want to [divorce her]."
(ט) האיש שנולדו בו מומין, אין כופין אותו להוציא. אמר רבן שמעון בן גמליאל: במה דברים אמורים, במומין הקטנים, אבל במומין הגדולים כופין אותו להוציא.
(9) [With regard to] a man upon whom blemishes originated, [the court] does not compel him to divorce his wife. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says, "[With regard to] were these words stated? To minor blemishes. But [with regard] to serious blemishes, they compel him to divorce [his wife]."
(י) ואלו שכופין אותו להוציא, מכה שחין, ובעל פוליפוס, והמקמץ, והמצרף נחשת, והברסי, בין שהיו בם עד שלא נשאו ובין משנשאו נולדו. ועל כלן אמר רבי מאיר: אף על פי שהתנה עמה, יכולה היא שתאמר סבורה הייתי שאני יכולה לקבל, ועכשיו איני יכולה לקבל. וחכמים אומרים: מקבלת היא על כרחה, חוץ ממכה שחין, מפני שממקתו. מעשה בצידון בברסי אחד שמת והיה לו אח ברסי, אמרו חכמים: יכולה היא שתאמר לאחיך הייתי יכולה לקבל ולך איני יכולה לקבל.
(10) And these [are the cases in which] they compel him to divorce [his wife]: one stricken with leprosy; or one afflicted with polypus; or one who gathers dogs’ dung; or a copper-smelter; or a tanner. Whether [these circumstances] existed before they were married or after they were married. And with regard to them all, Rabbi Meir said, "Even though he stipulated with her [in advance], she may say, 'I thought I could accept it, but now [I realize that] I cannot.'" But the Sages say, "She must accept it against her will, except for one smitten with leprosy, because [intercourse will] enervate him. It happened at Sidon, that a certain tanner died, and he had a brother who [also] was a tanner. The Sages said, "[The wife] may say, 'For your brother I could accept it, but for you I cannot accept it.'"
(כ) מי שהדין נותן שכופין אותו לגרש את אשתו ולא רצה לגרש. בית דין של ישראל בכל מקום ובכל זמן מכין אותו עד שיאמר רוצה אני ויכתוב הגט והוא גט כשר. וכן אם הכוהו עכו"ם ואמרו לו עשה מה שישראל אומרין לך ולחצו אותו ישראל ביד העכו"ם עד שיגרש הרי זה כשר. ואם העכו"ם מעצמן אנסוהו עד שכתב הואיל והדין נותן שיכתוב הרי זה גט פסול. ולמה לא בטל גט זה שהרי הוא אנוס בין ביד עכו"ם בין ביד ישראל. שאין אומרין אנוס אלא למי שנלחץ ונדחק לעשות דבר שאינו מחוייב בו מן התורה כגון מי שהוכה עד שמכר או עד שנתן. אבל מי שתקפו יצרו הרע לבטל מצוה או לעשות עבירה והוכה עד שעשה דבר שחייב לעשותו או עד שנתרחק מדבר האסור לעשותו אין זה אנוס ממנו אלא הוא אנס עצמו בדעתו הרעה. לפיכך זה שאינו רוצה לגרש מאחר שהוא רוצה להיות מישראל ורוצה הוא לעשות כל המצות ולהתרחק מן העבירות ויצרו הוא שתקפו וכיון שהוכה עד שתשש יצרו ואמר רוצה אני כבר גרש לרצונו.
If a man may be compelled by law to divorce his wife, yet he refuses to do so, an Israelite court of law of any time and place has the authority to lash him until he says "I want to [divorce her]". He may then write a writ of divorce and it is valid. If Gentiles flog him and say "do what the Israelite [authorities] command you" and he was pressured by Israelites through the Gentiles until he gives a divorce, it is valid. If the Gentiles themselves forced him until he wrote it, although there is good legal ground for it, it is [nevertheless] invalid. Why is this get not annulled, since it has been forced, whether by Gentiles or by Israelites? We do not say that someone was forced unless he was pressured and coerced to do something that he was not under any obligation to do according to the Torah; i.e. if someone was lashed until he sold or gave something away. However, if someone was overwhelmed by his evil inclination so that he did not observe a commandment or transgressed the law, and is lashed until he does what he is obligated to do or distances himself from what he is forbidden to do, he is not being forced: rather he forces himself on the basis of his evil inclination. Therefore, a man who does not want to grant divorce, inasmuch as he wants to be part of the people of Israel and wants to observe all of the commandments and to keep away from transgressions – and it is only his evil inclination which has overwhelmed him – once he has been lashed until his evil inclination has been weakened, and he said "I want to [divorce her]", it is as if he had divorced his wife voluntarily.
Rav stated: If a husband says, 'I will neither maintain nor support [my wife]', he must divorce her and also give her the kethubah. Rabbi Elazar went and mentioned this teaching in front of Samuel [who] exclaimed, 'Make Elazar eat barley; rather than compel him to divorce her let him be compelled to support her'. And what was Rav's reasoning? — No one can live with [a husband who is like] a serpent in the same basket.
11. The Rema, Shulhan Arukh, Even Ha'ezer 119:6 (gloss by Rabbi Moses Isserles, Poland, 1525-1572 on the Shulhan Arukh, written by Rabbi Joseph Caro , Spain 1488 - Israel 1575):
And Rabbeinu Gershom enacted a decree that a wife could not be divorced against her will unless she transgressed the law... there are those that say then when a commandment [to procreate] must be fulfilled [and he cannot fulfill it with his wife], he can divorce her against her will or he is allowed to marry two women.
12. Responsa of the Rosh 51:2 (Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (Germany 1250 - Spain, 1327):
It is worthy for every halakhic authority to examine all sides in order to release... since the sages were lenient regarding women's testimony due to the agunah [problem].
מפני תיקון העולם: מאי מפני תיקון העולם ר' יוחנן אמר מפני תקנת ממזרים ריש לקיש אמר מפני תקנת עגונות ר' יוחנן אמר מפני תקנת ממזרים סבר לה כרב נחמן דאמר בפני שנים ובי תרי לית להו קלא והיא לא שמעה ולא ידעה ואזלה ומינסבא ואיכא ממזרים וריש לקיש אמר מפני תקנת עגונות סבר לה כרב ששת דאמר בפני ג' ובי תלתא אית להו קלא ושמעה וידעה ולא מינסבא ותקנת עגונות הוא
13. Responsum by Rabbeinu Tam, Sefer Hayashar, Responsa section, chapter 77 (Rabbi Jacob ben Meir Tam, France, 110-1171):
Hence I teach that divorce should not be demanded in cases in which one is not allowed to compel divorce. I am of the opinion that if a divorce is obtained [in such cases] by [threat of] excommunication [of the husband], or is ordered by a rabbinic court, it is based on insufficient legal grounds, is invalid and disqualifies [her from marrying a priest].
14. Responsa of the Rosh 51:2 (Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (Germany 1250 - Spain, 1327):
I have seen how our rabbis, the Sages of Germany and France, keep as far away as possible from any form of compelling a man to divorce his wife in cases of rebellion. They agree with the position of Rabbeinu Tam, may he rest in peace, since he states the main proofs and deserves to be relied upon. And even if these issues were clearly determined, every one must avoid any semblance of adultery and the possibility of mamzerim [bastards according to Jewish law] in Israel... and furthermore I say... that nowadays it seems quite the opposite; Jewish women in this generation are haughty. If a woman can free herself from her husband by saying: "I do not want him", not one daughter of Abraham will stay with her husband. They will look at other men and rebel against their husbands. Hence, the correct thing is to avoid compelling divorce.
15. Responsa Iggerot Moshe, Even Ha'Ezer 1, chapter 79 (Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, 1895, Russia – 1986, United States):
[1] Regarding the wife who marries her husband and right after the wedding she discovers that he is impotent. He could not consummate the marriage nor penetrate all, since he could not approach that place. This was obviously so before the betrothal, as the very night that he married her he couldn't perform. This is so according to medical science. And specialists treated him with different medicines which didn't help him at all, and in their opinion he cannot be cured. And the woman is young, and needs to get married, and the husband didn't want to divorce her and fled town, and it is impossible to get a bill of divorce from him. Can she be set free by annulling the kiddushin,5 since had she known that he cannot be intimate, she surely would not have married him! She married with that intention and there isn't even a minority of women who would agree to such a marriage, since all women are meticulous about this. Maybe a very small minority exists, for example, women who want to be supported, if it is a woman who cannot earn money for her support and can find no other husband, and such very rare cases. Therefore it is necessary to rule in this case that it was a mistaken transaction and the kiddushin must be annulled.
[2] There are many women who would not agree to marry a man even with a small bodily defect, and the vast majority would not agree if he had a big defect... even though Reish Lakish's opinion that "it is a better [for a woman] to dwell as two" is clear-cut, the possibility should be taken into account that maybe they [the women] would agree.
..."When the Rabbinical body is powerless to force the husband because the civil government does not permit such enforcement, then the annulment becomes operational. No woman, with the exception of very few, would agree to get into a marriage which is impossible for them. Otherwise they never would have consented to marry."
16. Rabbi Eli'ezer Berkowitz (Germany, The United States, Israel, 1900- 1992), "Conditional Marriage and Divorce" (in Hebrew), Jerusalem, 1967, pp. 163-164:
It would seem that the miserable situation [of agunot] in the present leads us to seek for a cure by resorting to an enactment annulling kiddushin. This includes the possibility of establishing community approved enactments, with their rabbis' approval, as proposed by Rabbi Moses Al Ashkar. We have Orthodox rabbinic and community organizations today, thank God, in almost every country. There are even contacts between rabbinic and communal organizations in the different countries. Our world has shrunk, and thanks to modern means of transportation people can consult with each other and plan at the national and international levels. Modern technology conquers distances and allows us to plan together for the Jewish people as a whole and establish the necessary enactments for the entire people. This is an aspiration we could not have expected to fulfill ever since the Jewish people left its land; we did not have this ability during all the years of our terrible exile. The time has come to act for the sake of God and for the sake of the sanctity of His people, Israel.
17. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin "Yad La'Ishah – The Woman and Divorce according to Jewish Law" (in Hebrew), Efrat, 2004, p. 131:
The Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem should establish an enactment that determines that if the Rabbinic Court orders the husband to divorce his wife and he refuses to do so, and the sanctions imposed by the civil court are not efficient, a special Rabbinic Court will be convened, and it will have the authority to annul the kiddushin and thus allow the woman to remarry.
18. Example, from "The Agreement for Mutual Respect":
This agreement establishes the husband's monetary obligation towards the wife and the wife's similar obligation towards the husband, when one of them sends a notice to the other one regarding his/her desire to separate and 6 to 9 months have elapsed, according to the agreement's stipulations. The language of the section regarding the man's obligation follows:
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The Man hereby now (me'achshav) obligates himself, to make monthly maintenance payments to the Woman in the greater of the following two sums:
A. The shekel equivalent of $1,500 (one thousand five hundred U.S. dollars) according to the representative rate of the dollar published at the time of actual payment.B. A sum constituting 50% (fifty percent) of his mean monthly (net) income of the year preceding the Notification Date.