The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-31
The Jewish Law or Divorce.

civil wars. NJ. w. II.
The Jewish Law OF Divorce.
Awork on The Jetctsh Lau OF Diporee. by DAVID
WERNER AMIR Of tho Philadelphia bar
Edward Storm. 10 interesting to students
OF law. and because OF It's method OF treating
the subject and It's attractive literary style. to
laymen also. 1t Is q subject, too. whose dis
custom is especially pertinent at this time,
when tho issuing OF bills of divorce by Jewish
rabbis. real or solf-constituted has created an
i'm preston that the Jewish law is SO far Lax
that 1t tends TO social confusion IL not demorali-
cation. II is possible that this circumstance has
suggested to Mr.. Amram the propriety OF study
Ing carefully the Jewish legislation on the writ
OF divorce. from the point OF view of an Ameri-
can lawyer and rs n jew to whom the sources
OF rAbbinical procedure are open. Moreover.
his evident effort has been to pursue his re-
searches without bias, and the wide range OF
his historical and scholarly investigation gives
to his book great value rs an exhaustive and
authoritative treatment OF the subject.
Mr.. Amram goes back In his research TO the
prehistoric patriarchs OF the time when the head
OF the family was absolute In his household TO
the time when he could at his will eIpel his
wife. sell his daughter into bondage or marriage
or liberate his slave. Abraham sent away Ha-
gar and her child without ceremony: King Saul
gave his daughter. Michal. in marriage to an
other man when Ter husband, David, had run
away from his State. Such was the custom
among all peoples OF antiquity. and 1t still pre-
walls among semi-.avago tribes In Asia. The
Mosaic law put restrictions upon this custom.
It ordained that q man could not send away his
wife unless he had actual cause for the separa-
ton; and In some instances 1t prohibited d.
vorce altogether deuteronomy xii. 1919 and
IS. 29). II decreed. moreover. that W hen q man
found something unseemly" about his wife
and wished to separate himself from her. he
should write = bill Of enforcement for her."
dbid xiv. la This Is the earliest law on
divorce that is known. As IL was ordained
at q time when the art OF writing was coz
fined to . few individuals OF the priestly
caste. It becomes evident that the legislator in.
tended to make a divorce difficult to obtain. and
to make necessary the Official services OF q man
OF ministerial dignity. Thus It appears that
the spirit Of the Mosaic legislation was then op-
posed to the custom OF divorce: and expressing
that spirit the prophet Malachi a., l4-lS,
proclaimed that the Lord " hateth enforcement"
or as the English Bible gives IL, putting AWAY"
The INTERPRETATION NJ mi. D.p,.ro,ou,.-
became sub,sc, n, d,snr,. ,.,,.sn 49,
great schools of rabbinica, ,.,,.la,or. .h.,..-~
hundred year. befors IN. ch,.,ian 49,. IT.
ripori,ts Of IN, ,choo, n, sh.m.i h.,s ~
o,h.r cans. than adp,,.rv =. .,m.,..,
,ifv a man divorcinv nj. viz. hr, ,h..sh
Hulel. who WA. alU.v. mnr. lIh.,., A. -.
pre,inu tho Law n, No... ,on,.na.a
could maks ths d,roro. IN.
The latter opInion nrsva,l.d ~ n,...SN
thopvh thu aI.cp..,or ,... 5000 -.
r.bbI, for ,.v.r.l o.n.r.,on. .rS.' ~
A,ex.rdrinI.n nn,,o.onh.. MI. .N0
and m, b,.,or,.n Er.vin. - suu"u''
inc A. IN, h.y,nnin, -, a.. oN'''
followed tho opinion Of Uill.r. school. -.
on the other hand f.ccord,n, - ~. C.'N',
Matthew viz 40, .,d.d wi,h 49,.
school Of sbnm,i. I'M, ys end to-. ,n," C So
tian source th.t The s.p.e n, nronr,.,r 49,.
tin,o aict.,sd that . d,voro. .,a,,s
..priyily :, 40 that the m.n shnnIs -,
hi, wife n pub,Io .,amnI." ~, 80
Altboueb thu on,nion 90 rIu,.,t,..
and man co,Id ...na
VIII. for anx cansa w,.,.v.,, Ms
s,at.. IN. rahh,. ~ ,o,h sosa
.mnh.,ically 4, o,,n. n,-eI"eu
divorce and that .a,,rr. a. 49,, sa"
from mop,h IN mo,th. hr, T., ~. '"n
mental ,ncompatib,l,tv th,,
Matrimonial bannInss. ,hav in,.r,o..s
IN nr.vent divorca nv ,nr,roI 49,.
thew prohibit.d aIvorco In so,o r.,.n". .'"'
accordinv N m. Iaw = !, ~. - -" "noro
lowed. A man could M, dIror,. 49, III
was a minor, althonch On. ,o,hor u
copld civ. b,, In mnrrIora ~ as'r'
cs,v. a vr,t n, ..n.r.,t"n .ou,u no. re-
sick mr. 5.m.n,.d ,i,o De"sI'
vorood. nor could . ms, dira.. 20 u-
when she had been taken esn,,v. ana wi" "a,s