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From
<a href="http://torahmusings.com/2013/10/the-tears-of-the-oppressed/" eudora="autourl">
http://torahmusings.com/2013/10/the-tears-of-the-oppressed/</a><br><br>
<font size=3>The past few years have provided the Orthodox Jewish
community with far too many embarrassing moments, when seemingly good
members were shown to have acted in ways that were anything but good.
Most cases were matters of personal greed and corruption; a few went much
farther. But none of those painful situations come close to the
desecration of the name of Heaven and the name of the Jewish People like
a recent scandal in which a handful of individuals were arrested for
kidnapping and violence in coercing a get. You may ask why I consider
this episode to be worse than others. I say this because the crimes
reported by law enforcement authorities and in the media do not represent
the deeds of a few but in large part the failings of the community.
<br><br>
Given the attendant publicity there has been much confusion about the
issues, so an important historical and halachic clarification is in
order. There is no such thing as an ancient and ongoing tradition of
using brute force to coerce recalcitrant husbands to issue <i>gittin</i>.
To be sure there were rare occasions when rabbinic courts ordered a
<i>get</i> be executed and had the legal power to ensure that it was
done. That power was only exercised in times and places where the Jewish
community had autonomy and was authorized by the secular authorities to
enforce the rulings of its own courts. This was not vigilante action but
enforcement through the power of the law. On rare occasions this is also
seen today in the State of Israel, where rabbinic courts are connected to
the State court system and may imprison a man who refuses to issue a
<i>get</i> for ignoring a court order. However, this is a regulated and
legal procedure. It must be unambiguously stated that if there is a place
for any sort of coercion it is only when it is consonant with both
<i>halachah</i> and the laws of the country and state. <br><br>
See the above URL for more.<br><br>
The author of this piece is Rabbi Asher Bush, who was often a guest in
my home many years ago. See the sidebar for information about Rabbi
Bush. YL</font></body>
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