The wife should file a plea for ‘shlom bayit’ (marital reconciliation ) at the rabbinate. If her husband files for divorce there, she should defend herself and try and persuade the rabbinical court that no grounds exist for divorce. The wife’s plea for ‘shlom bayit’ is actually “toothless”; its purpose is to persuade the rabbinical court to exercise its moral authority to try and make the husband save the marriage, but it has no legal authority at all on the issue.

There are situations where a wife may file a plea for ‘shlom bayit’ for tactical reasons. She may not be ready emotionally to divorce, but may be interested in preventing her husband leaving the country, or transferring property, and within the framework of the plea she can apply for appropriate orders to stop these happening.