Dr. Rachel Levmore is a well-known name in Israel, especially among agunos, whom she represents with a tenacious commitment to obtaining their freedom. Levmore is also known to many Americans as she directs the Project for the Prevention of Agunos & Get-Refusal of the Young Israel Movement. Justice Minister (The Movement) Tzipi Livni tapped Dr. Levmore to become a member of the committee that selects the nation’s dayanim.
Levmore is a To’enet Rabbanit, trained above her legal qualifications to plea on behalf of her clients in the nation’s batei din. She drafted the prenuptial agreement known as the הסכם לכבוד הדדי which has been accepted by Young Israel and many rabbonim in Eretz Yisrael, but frowned upon by many gedolim in Eretz Yisrael. Obviously her intention was to facilitate obtaining a get from recalcitrant husbands, but opposing rabbonim feel it casts an unwanted shadow on marriage and should not be used.
Interestingly, one prominent dati leumi rav who opposes the agreement is Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, who is Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Har Bracha. He instructs marrying couples not to sign it, in line with many chareidi rabbonim. For one thing, he opposes the fact that the agreement does not compel divorce proceedings to take place in a beis din, leaving an open door to a secular court chas v’sholom. He feels the agreement is not halachically sound and therefore should not be used.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
A good appointment who will lend a different perspective to the appointments committee.
Livni and Levmore should know any controversial idea which is born in our century is a flop, there are ideas written by previous Gedolim which are sound and safe so if you turn to our gedolim with respect that you want their help its there , if you want them to agree to your ideas its a flop,
2. Seichel Brosh says: “…. there are ideas written by previous Gedolim which are sound and safe…”
None really come to mind. Can you name one? Do you mean the one by Saul Lieberman? or the one endorsed by the RCA?
#2. you seem to have a problem and lack of compassion for Agunos. If a halachic solution is found, it should be done.
What ideas are you talking about? You seem to be saying that nothing should be done for these poor women.
Your words: Do you mean the one by Saul Lieberman? or the one endorsed by the RCA?
Since this is what you call previous Gedolim, it tells me that the topic is not to be discussed on YWN just around the table with present world wide accepted Gedolim.
“Since this is what you call previous Gedolim”
R’Lieberman and R’Willig, who developed respectively the ketubah modification and the RCA prenup, count as THE gedolim in this area. WADR, none of today’s charedi gedolim have done anything.