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Marriage and Divorce
Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish Divorce
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Many years ago my wife was sexually harassed by another man. She brought legal proceedings against him , won and was compensated financially. I want to divorce her. Can use this incident of sexual harassment as a ground for divorce under Jewish law ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceNo ! Sexual harassment of a wife by a third party does not constitute grounds for a man to divorce under Jewish law , especially where the husband continued living with her, and was regarded as having accepted the situation.
Furthermore, in your case, the fact that she brought legal action against this man and won indicates very strongly that she was against the advances of this man , and not encouraging him ,and , therefore, was not committing “ugly acts”, which are a discretionary ground for divorce.
I caught my wife writing a love letter to a man. I snatched it from her and won’t give it back. If the rabbinical court sees it, will it be grounds for divorce ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceIf the love letter is submitted to the rabbinical court as evidence and it is satisfied that it is genuine i.e. was written by the wife, and that , on the basis of its contents, she was having intimate relations with the man, then it could form the evidential basis of a divorce judgment granted by the rabbinical court on the grounds of adultery. If so, then the wife could lose her maintenance up to the time of her divorce, and her rights under her Ketuba (Jewish marriage contract).
My wife has been having long phone conversations with another man over a considerable period of time. Do I have grounds for divorce ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceYes, if a married woman has endless, long phone conversations with another man over a period of time this could well be divorce grounds for her husband, as her behaviour gives rise to suspicion that she is having intimate relations with this person. Under Jewish law a suspicion of intimate relations on the part of a wife is grounds for a husband to divorce her.
I have discovered that my wife has been advertising herself on internet dating websites. Is this sufficient grounds for divorce under Jewish law ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceAlthough advertising on internet dating website is not itself sufficient evidence of adultery, which is grounds for divorce under Jewish law, it would most probably amount to ‘ugly behaviour’ in the eyes of a rabbinical court. ‘Ugly behaviour’ is – in the eyes of Jewish law and the rabbinical court – negative behaviour on the wife’s part justifying grounds for divorce by the husband as it lays the seeds for adultery. Clearly if you have additional evidence – that she actually communicated and dated – rather than merely advertised over the internet, your case will be stronger.
Is a married woman who communicates with men over the internet and meets them on dates in danger of giving her husband grounds for divorce ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceYes, Communicating with other men over the internet and meeting them as a result gives rise to the suspicion that she is having intimate relations outside of her marriage. Under Jewish law “ugly acts” on the part of a wife e.g. communicating over the internet and meeting them – are divorce grounds for a husband, but the panel of rabbinical judges have considerable discretion in the matter where there is no evidence of full adultery.
My husband and I once took part in group sex with another married couple. He has now threatened to use this against me in divorce proceedings he says he is going to take against me. I do not want to break up the family. Could the rabbinical court order me to divorce because of evidence given by the man I had intercourse with during this group sex ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceYes, in principle evidence given about a wife’s participation in group sex could be accepted by a rabbinical court dealing with a divorce plea filed by her husband . If it considered that the evidence was strong enough to prove adultery – which is a ground for divorce in Jewish law – then it could order her to divorce. In Jewish law two witnesses are needed to prove any matter. Evidence of a close relative – including that of a husband – bears little weight, but that of another man, for example the other male particpant in the group sex mentioned , can prove decisive, if his testimony is not torn to pieces on cross-examination.
Can a husband have grounds for divorcing his wife under Jewish law if she spends time with other men if adultery cannot be proved ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceIf a husband cannot prove adultery but has warned his wife about spending time with other men it may be possible for him to get a rabbinical court to order his wife to accept a divorce . Under Jewish law if two witnesses give evidence about hearing the husband warning his wife not to go to a ‘hidden place’ with another man then grounds may exist for divorce if she disobeys .
Can a rabbinical court order a woman to divorce her husband is she admits to adultery and living with another man – but there are no witnesses ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceThe Greater Rabbinical Court has held that where a wife admits adultery or cohabitation with another man but there are no witnesses the rabbinical court can recommend that she divorce, but it cannot oblige her to do so.
I have discovered that my wife has been cheating on me for sometime now. I cannot accept her behaviour, and don’t want to forgive her. Can I get a divorce at the rabbinical court ?
Marriage and Divorce •Husband's Means of Legal Action in Jewish DivorceYes, adultery is a recognisable ground for divorce under Jewish law.
If your wife does not want to divorce, but you do and file for it at the
rabbinical court, you will need to produce evidence, unless of course she
admits to it, which is rare.
Alternatively, if your wife agrees to divorce, you can proceed to work on a comprehensive settlement covering finance, child custody etc.
If my spouse finally agrees to sign a divorce agreement how can this actually be enforced so that I will be divorced under Jewish law ?
Marriage and Divorce •Divorce Between JewsFor Jews often the most problematic area of a divorce agreement for Jews concerns the divorce itself . Firstly, if they submit the signed divorce agreement covering issues such as child custody, maintenance and property , for authorisation at the family court all the other issues can be incorporated into a judgment , given them full legal validity, but the paragraph(s) relating to the divorce itself cannot be touched. Divorce between Jews is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the rabbinical court. Therefore, the part of the divorce agreement relating to divorce can only be authorised by a rabbinical court, where a divorce judgment can be given. Some parties authorise the whole agreement at the rabbinical court.
Secondly, although mutual consent is a ground for divorce under Jewish law the actual agreement to divorce cannot be enforced because this could interfere with the ‘get’ process. A ‘get’ (Jewish divorce deed) must be given and accepted with full consent and out of free choice.
In exceptional circumstances, use is made of sanctions against a husband who refuses to give his wife a divorce but only a ‘get’ given with full consent and out of free choice has legal validity.
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