Following long deliberations, Maran Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv Shlita has ruled in favor of supporting the compromise of Chief Rabbi Rav Shlomo Amar Shlita, to permit goyim (non-Jews) to marry in a civil service, a compromise towards entering the government with Yisrael Beitenu, the party also seeking a civil alternative for Jews who opt to ignore halacha.
The approval from the Gadol HaDor will permit moving ahead in coalition talks, with Yahadut HaTorah negotiators explaining to Likud counterparts they cannot respond on the civil marriage issue until the Rav renders a decision.
There are stipulations accompanying the approval, as per the draft prepared by Rav Amar, that weddings performed between a non-Jewish couple may only be performed by a non-Jew. No Jew may be in any way connected to the ceremony, not directly or indirectly. The rabbonim who researched the matter for Rav Elyashiv recommend such weddings be conducted by non-Jewish attorneys. Rav Elyashiv remains adamantly opposed to any Jewish involvement, such as a court official who is Jewish.
The second stipulation accompanying the ruling is that all requests for a non-Jewish civil wedding first pass through the Chief Rabbinate to permit checking the database to ensure there are no Jews involved who may be claiming to be goyim to bypass the Rabbinate.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
I don’t understand. Is this not sheva mitzvos bnei noach?!
1. This will not solve the problem since many of the hilonim are Jews, and they want to marry other hilonim (without travelling to another country, since Israel recognizes any marriages performed abroad regardless of halacha)
2. Maintaining a register of “Who is a goy” will be even more difficult than “Who is a Jew” since increasingly hilonim are a safek.
3. Unless they do DNA tests, it will be hard to verify ancestry based on official documents, and with DNA tests you will run into many people who aren’t the biological descendants of whom they say they are (that is a characteristic of secular peoples everywhere in the world). At best you get confusion, at worst you will have to conclude that all hilonim are safek mamzerim (but then, following the precedent of the Ethiopians, we have a solution, since they will be safek mamzerim, safek goyim, which is an easy to resolve problem).
Time for a reality check.
Bibi has a few more days to form a coalition, with UTJ and Katzela standing on the side there is no govt—-then Livni will be given the chance to start negotiations. (Olmert is having a ball!). Under Livni’s thumb the religious parties and all their benefits are HISTORY, therefore the decision about civil marriages for goyim is not surprising. The Chief Rabbis were positive and in agreement while awaiting for the pasuk of Rav Elyashiv.
Thank HaShem we have such gedolim to decide our difficult questions!
Our dor is blessed, things might be better than we think.