MK (The Movement) Elazar Stern told Israel Radio on Tuesday, 11 Cheshvan 5774 that for him personally, Jews should marry in line with halacha and they should keep kashrus. He added “for me getting married civilly, outside the framework of halacha is a serious matter, but one must have this option nevertheless.”
Stern feels that while halacha is the proper way, it cannot be compelled on citizens and in the democratic Jewish State people must have the option of a non-religious wedding as well as the state providing acceptable kashrus that does not include every badatz stringency, which the majority of the nation is uninterested in.
Stern feels the outcome of the Chief Rabbinate elections is disappointing for he felt the Tzohar rabbonim could have done a great deal to bring religion to many who are closed to it today.
When asked about same gender marriage, Stern feels the term “marriage” is unacceptable but the state must find a way to recognize such “partnerships” for these people have the same right to live their lives and establish their lives in Israel.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Rav Elyashiv felt this way, to avoid Mamzerim. Though the Sepharadic Chief rabbis disagreed and got their way…
Until their is a resolution to the issue of contested divorces it is appropriate to be very wary of a marriage governed by orthodox halacha.
This “rabbi” is saying just what Achashverosh said:
להיות כל איש שורר בביתו everyone should do as they please in name of “democracy” and we must cut out passages of Torah that doesn’t fit in with “democracy”, esp Chumash Vayikra where “partnership” must replace those ancient laws of “immorality” and “abomination” and other old-fashioned laws not suitable for a 21st century “democracy”.
You can not insist on “marriage by halacha” unless you ban “de facto” marriages not by halacha, which has two problems: 1) halacha allows “de facto” marriages (called “common law” in the USA) even if they are highly disapproved of; 2) law restricting private intimate behavior of any sort are unenforceable yet unless you uniformly ban extramarital relations any such law is meaningless.
A better solution might be to adopt the view of some hareidim that marriages involving people who aren’t frum are probably void since they lack intent to marry “k’das Moshe v’Yisrael”, give any woman the right to choose the Beis Din to supervise a “get” if she believes her marriage was according to halacha and combine this with requiring a man in those situations to give the “get”, otherwise treat marriage as a private contract.