An Agunah cannot be self-proclaimed. As much as any woman who doesn’t get everything she wants in civil court would like to claim Agunah status for sympathy, support, money, or whatever, it just is not part of halacha, and any Rabbi who says otherwise is not knowledgeable in Halacha. An Agunah is a woman who is halachacally chained to her husband and cannotremarry, but that is not the complete definition. Our talmudic sages have been very clear as to what constitutes such a case. For example: a man lost at sea, or taken prisoner in battle with no evidence whether he's alive or dead, or a man who refuses to EVER grant his wife a Get which would then render a wife an Agunah. On the other hand, a woman who refuses to accept a GET is not an agunah. Ninety nine percent of the alleged Agunot of today do not fall into any of the above Agunah categories. Even one of the longest “Alleged Agunah” stories, Meir Kin, that has gone on for over 10 years; contains no evidence that his wife is an Agunah or that he is a recalcitrant husband. He is not lost at sea, nor taken prisoner, is not dead, and has not refused to grant his wife a GET; as a matter of fact, he has deposited a GET at a local Beth Din. Anyone who has examined the real evidence knows that this is not a case of an Agunah and a recalcitrant husband. Since his wife does not want to receive the GET, we wish Meir Kin congratulations and happiness on his new marriage (March 2014). There is no reason why he should not move on with his life. This type of behaviour has been documented extensively and is a growing concern. According to a recent Haaretz and Jerusalem Post article about Divorce in Israel, the articles states: "The total number of cases of women refusing toaccept a written Get as a strategy to secure improved financial and visitation terms from the husband, rose to at least 201 identified cases. This marks the fourth consecutive year that cases of women refusing to accept a written Get as a financial strategy exceeded the number of women denied a Get by the husband.”
In virtually all of the alleged Agunah/Recalcitrant husband cases, the wife believes she can get a better deal going to civil court (against halacha) and then after she gets the house, custody, child support and alimony; to then start screaming agunah to try and secure a GET. Husbands and Rabbis should stand strong and not give in to these non-Jewish money grubbing tactics and demand that the woman put things back the way they were prior to going to civil court. Whatever cannot be put back, such as denied visitation or false claims of abuse, then a monetary amount needs to be set. This is not extortion or blackmail, its halacha. The Talmud is very clear on damages, and someone who causes you damages is required to pay for the damages. All issues concerning damages must be settled prior to the giving of a GET. Never accept the promise from the wife or third party that damages will be taken care of after the GET. They won’t!! There are too many stories of men who lowered their guard and gave a GET before all the divorce proceedings were through and have regreted it. If you live in New York, where they have an unconstitutional GET law, (See: First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution), you would be better off moving to California or somewhere else. I certainly hope Meir Kin has been keeping track of all the damages in his case, including attorney fees, lost wages, court costs, slander, defamation and more. Also keep in mind when a wife goes to civil court, she forfeits her Ketubot. Most likely, as in many highly publicized cases, the dollar amount grows so large that it becomes totally impossible to ever pay the damages. I believe in the Meir Kin case, the amount has already grown past $500,000 dollars, and is likely growing daily. Her only option now is to try and falsely shame him into giving a GET. Shame on any Rabbi who supports this behavior. Most of the self-proclaimed women we have researched claiming Agunah status are clearly a MOREDES, a wife who abandoned her husband; and usually absconded with the couple's child(ren).With most Beth Dins, a MOREDES simply does not exist, and Jewish women are never held accountable for their actions. We know for fact that the Beth Din of America is one such Beth Din and is not knowledgeable about Moredes status. In truth, if a Jewish wife flees with the couple's child and then obtains court orders in ARCHAOS, her husband has the right AL PI HALACHA to demand that the wife nullify the court orders, return the child(ren) to the father's town, and compensate the father for all his damages. All his damages includes everything. In a lengthy civil divorce, this can easily surpass a million dollars. It is very rare to find what we call a Hamanah (female version of Haman) but occasionally it does happen. A man who married such a woman believe that it is better that these type of vengeful, hateful and damaged women be left alone and not EVER receive a GET so that it protects other men from marrying them and having the same thing happen to them. Best to leave these bitter and loathsome women alone for the rest of their life to protect the rest of Jewish mankind. The Talmud states that a dishonest and slanderous wife will be punished by having her bones weakened in this world and losing her ‘Olem Habah” portion in the next. If anyone knows a true Agunah, (AL PI HALAHA), we will publish her name and do everything necessary to help her acquire a true and quick GET. We will not be party to any revenge tactics or financial scams to assist any woman to try and better her position in court or some feminist Beth Din. To this day, we have not found even one agunah. AGUNAH LIST1. ____________________________________________2. ____________________________________________3. ____________________________________________4. ____________________________________________
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