A woman whose husband suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution received a divorce this week following the assistance of the Agunos Department of the Rabbinical Courts.

In recent days, Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, head of the Agunos Unit, was approached by a woman who is worried about being left an agunah. These are Jerusalemites, parents of a little girl. After a number of years of marriage, the man became mentally ill and deteriorated.

The man left his employment and slowly began to lose his sanity. After a few months he was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution and was treated with medication. The woman who saw her house fall apart wanted to get divorced. According to his doctors, there is concern regarding the husband’s mental capacity and ability to give a get.

The woman turned to Rabbi Maimon claiming that her husband’s mental health was weakening. According to her, in order to prevent further deterioration in the man’s illness, a situation is created in which she may remain agunah for many years.

Within a few days, with the help of the man’s family, Rabbi Maimon met with the couple and began to talk to the husband’s emotions and the state of his wife and family. With the help of his family, the man agreed to give a divorce to his wife, and therefore the divorce was set for that day for fear that his mind would change. Despite the timetables, an immediate discussion was held on the composition of the dayanim – Rabbi Mordechai Toledano, Rabbi David Shani and Rabbi Menachem Hagar.

The court examined the legal status of the man with his relatives and decided that he was competent to grant a get, knowing that the family could change the situation at any moment, as he might get into a fit. In a manner that deviated from the predetermined timetable, the couple were put into a special hearing and the divorce was finally granted on that day.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)