New-York tribune., 1903-06-28
Evils OF THE RABBINICAL DIVORCE.
TT PROMOTES BIGAMY. CRUELTY BLACkAAL And
s0RBOW WHEN NOT PROPERLY GUARDED

falls with a terrific force on the Hebrew, which
he cannot stand His family increases. and the
burden grows heavier. The work fails and the
family difference follows where the income does
not increase with the family
$50 far all the reasons have been from the
masculine side Of the question; now comes the
feminine reason. In Europe the woman is
educated, submissive. docile. When she comes
to America she beholds her American sister
neither dociIe nor submissive. neither Uned-
ucated nor trained. to any appreciable extent
to obedience She feels her position and she
begins to seek her rights and then the divorce
problem comes in
With this glimpse at the causes OF the mat
rimoniaI disturbances it is necessary now TO
examine the manifestations OF this connuoal
disturbance. How does the Tabbinical divorce
manifest itself? The most frequent example
is that Of the man. who coming TO America and
leaving his family behind meets another object
of devotion in a newer land. "A neater. sweeter
maiden in a greener, cleaner land as Mr.
Kfpling puts it. Then he gets married again
The second wife may not know it, or she may
conclude that wife No. is a long way on and
decide to chance it,
or some other far province, ceases 70 get
money by mail. Her letters stop and her nus
band ceases to communicate Win net 4u1L
she gets worried and comes 10 AHleIicd' dllu
though the world is wide she presently us
covers her husband and wife No = Ire
great question then is. What can she 90! She
is moor in a strange land and without resource.
So she consents to settlement IhdI i. -OI q
consideration she sells out her vested ilteIeSlS
in her husband, goes with MIN 10 d IeJ0i anu
is there divorced : 8. ro+
bv auy means satisfied; she has E!eIoeu =
necessitv onIy Presently. along come some OF
her relatives and tell her that she IS noJ a.
yorced; that she has still hoid on IIeI -
band and if she wants revenge, an she .s5 lisS
do is to go to the court and have him pllL1sIi.1u
for bigany Lawyers are called IN anu ~ d1Nlso
her to sue for support She sues ana lile IiIa-
e. srres+ad for bicamy He believed, for such
is the case in numberless instances -. tI-e-I
rabbi who had divorced him had s the hsSe sE3 +ts
authority. But he mas 10 MS SOi'0"
law is far different = -,,4.1
But there IS even a worse sOrt OF s-et so1-
locked up in the rabbinical divorce the WIZ Viz
10 bIsrxn1afItng resulting from these separa-
tfons Some time ago there came , Qut III ,5 -
a case of woman whose nuS5lt5 i Ls- 60 shame
practice Of beating her and using heI 20 -
F,,1I1- that she could stand IT no lohSeI' g. c.
6naItv by means OF her relatives anu q 80 -
of money she had secured hef nus SoaLIL -o-,+ =.
ra,+ 20 a dfvorce If there is mutual consenI. =
is not necessary To make any eXaIlIIa lloLs 49,,
cordine. 10 the Jewish law. and so the NoLI-q1- ne
- q 7'eet" from Jewish rabbi, ana was -
sanuentIy married to a man WhO ue@'OU ne
kindly and gave her HAPPY no noiIe, I,5 ~, child
Coa dav her first husband sent Word Oy 0,iiLA -!
20 his former wife that if she did not sehd MIN
$50 within few hours he would yS nayS LeL a+ bs
Y. -. Il Co. bigary The money could not %
reiseS and the whole story was reheaTseo IA
Court where the woman was cnarBeu W. w"
bigany. Here. as IN IuS CooT " - 80 az,
or fnnocent woman was made 70 suIeF tS Ior On
irfraction OF the law committed all unWiItIlsly.
,Tbus then the rabbinfcal stlVorce OecO,heS o
fr1,jtfnI source Of blackma1l- OIteh W. Viz
Woman is divorced she calmly waits Tntl 3sr
husband has married again, ana then I So -
biro nm and makes him pay her resuI1I a.
Iowance or failing. soon has feEeI+se ,t, ~ r.
Tbers is vet another source q pitchllldll, -.
has been mentioned that the man must asA & -o'
tIo Ir s;.o-oa NOv- sI1DpOse a woman gets q feSU-
Iar decree from court which entltIes hSI 70 -
marry She IS in her own TnlnG not .5i ~ -ay+s
from her husband Not until the Lhpoi s -
o~-I- and so the man from whom sne is lesdllS
Traad manages to collect blackmall peIote -.
santing TO ask for the TabOlnlcaI dlVOIe1- @ ,.,-s
is what would be called IN spoI CIls - = ~
,-sors+ az the rabbinicaI divorce that Whe'IS.
I-o,1 see if worked backward or 1oFWaIu' SO~ 80
If working tmmeasurable harm: ,,,+. q.
One of the most prominent OF lhe Ies.oI0I = "
+bo Fast side declares that the cause OF l!,7
rabbinicaI divorce lay in ignorance hOI IA W"
fulness- - -, 81. tz ~. araF+
her husband the day she discovered SIiT 49, 5
legally his wife. Over here the people resdA 49,.
marriage and divorce as purely retlSiouS - ~ Iiss
+ers i,1st as they are in Russia. ana LOT IHS -
of them they can't see what the court has 50 -
70 do with them. AS for the rabbl, soIhetIlLlg9
he NAV tell them that tLey can't reInarrE - a.
they get a divorce from the courts P~' '
meaningless to most of them -,
1t was to remedy just such condltlotS q - -.
bser nresented and they are by no means "a
or unusual. that the convention last ey w. tTs
sound remedy for this evil, the remedy WHICH -
advocated by the friends OF the sufferers eNVL'
Irbere-nameIv that rabbis should not grant "a
Armed with a civil decree Of divorce. the razor
could have no hesitation in granting lhe ~
Ipious one and all the evils arising from fe-
versaI of this order would be avoided