Dear Editor,
Thank you for your wonderful issue on iggun. The amount of space you gave to the subject indicates how important you think it is.
Invariably, the issue turns to how many agunot exist. We seem to be a generation moved by the numbers of the suffering rather than rachamim towards each person. Those of us working and advocating in this area have endeavored to find statistics but they are hard to attain because of the lack of definition of what constitutes iggun today. (Is it the classic definition of disappearance? get-refusal with or without extortion? or “negotiations are taking place” but for how long?) The number of agunot should not be an issue: it is too callous an approach. Rather we need to see the suffering of each woman as something which needs to be alleviated. If one suffers from a rare disease or cannot have a child, we do not play the numbers game. We want to find a solution, we work towards one, we pray.
If we do not want to see halakha corrupted by individual solutions which undermine both Orthodoxy and the halakha of Jewish marriage, it is incumbent on each of us to ask our respected rabbis and dayanim to solve this inhuman problem. We ask, from each of you, your sympathy for these poor women and their children, and we seek your help.
Batya S. Levin
Chair, JOFA’s Agunah Task Force
Dear Editor,
My husband and I always read and enjoy the JOFA Journal. But your recent expanded issue is particularly worthwhile. We enjoyed the contents tremendously. Rabbi Riskin’s proposal, if anything comes of it, could represent a real breakthrough. And Susan Aranoff’s discussion of the Rackman Beit Din told a lot. Long after the pygmies who try to diminish his work are forgotten, Rabbi Rackman will be remembered for his great contribution to freeing chained women. Congratulations on the whole issue.
Shirley Feldstein
Teaneck, New Jersey
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the issue on the problem of agunot and possible solutions. My husband has refused to give me a get for several years and I am waiting for a decision from the Beit Din. Agunot have to do many things just to keep going and keep their sanity. I have done many things including writing this poem to express my feelings at this difficult time. I think it will resonate with other women in a similar situation. All of us pray that the rabbis take our situation seriously and work to free us.
Anonymous
Israel
Dear Editor,
The articulation “Kol ha-Mattir Agunah Ahat ke-Illu Banah Ahat mi-Hurvot Yerushalayim ha-Elyona” [Whoever frees one agunah it is as though he built one of the ruins of supernal Jerusalem] is first mentioned in a question concerning an agunah that was posed to Rabbi Joel Sirkes (1561-1640)- the Bach. Later codifiers utilized this concept as a rationale for their willingness to deal with the issue of agunot. This was in contrast to the reluctance that was evident amongst various poskim, who preferred to refrain from ruling in cases of agunot, due to the fear that the psak might possibly be incorrect in the future. The notion that “Whoever frees one agunah it is as though he built one of the ruins of supernal Jerusalem,” appears in a variety of sources and in diverse contexts. My recently published article (Hebrew), which appeared in Dine Israel (Studies in Halakha and Jewish Law) Vol. 23 (2005), pp.163-197, traces this articulation in detail.
Yael Levine
Jerusalem
Dear Editor,
The latest JOFA Journal was very impressive. The number of articles, the intelligent level on which they were written, the various topics covered within what we call “the agunah problem” all did very well to serve our purpose of “educating the layman as well as the rabbinate.” I believe that JOFA succeeded in demonstrating that the problem is not a monolith, but is complex and many-sided; thus it can be approached for resolution in various angles.
You did an excellent job. Thank you for asking me to contribute and for printing the agunah story I sent. I hope it will help to get her a get.
Rachel Levmore
Jerusalem
Dear Editor,
I cannot agree with you more about the need for community involvement. Perhaps if the women’s organizations, i.e., AMIT and Emunah, got involved to some degree and put pressure on the Rabbis we would see some progress. It is true that these organizations have their own agendas, but they also have a lot of power and ability to raise vital issues and concerns facing the Jewish community.
Arlene Moriber
Queens, New York