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Dissertation Information for Faye Lisa Rosenberg

NAME:
- Faye Lisa Rosenberg

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Women's Studies

SCHOOL:
- York University (USA) (1999)

ADVISORS:
- Naomi Black

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Patricia McDermott
- Didi Khayatt
- Penny Van Esterik
- Johanna H. Stuckey
- E. Silverman

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Jewish women praying for divorce: The plight of agunot in contemporary Judaism

Abstract: This dissertation analyzes the impact Jewish divorce law has on the lives of Jewish women, focusing on Canada. Jewish divorce law, which is adhered to by Orthodox Jews and many Conservative Jews, dictates that only a husband has the right to end a Jewish marriage, by granting his wife a get , a divorce document (plural gittin ). Without gittin , Jewish women become agunot , literally meaning those who are anchored or chained. Agunot remain in a state of limbo unable to marry again, for such marriage would be adulterous and invalid according to Jewish law. If agunot have subsequent children, the status and stigma of momzer or bastard would be placed upon these children. While Jewish women can also become agunot if their husbands die or disappear without witness, or if their husbands are not mentally competent to give them gitten , the majority of agunot are victimized by recalcitrant husbands, who misuse the power accorded to them by Jewish law. In many instances husbands use gitten to obtain better monetary settlements or custody rights.

During the past twenty years scholars have mentioned agunot , albeit with brevity, whatever their line of inquiry. Because their analyses the history and development of Jewish women\'s oppression within Jewish law or discussions regarding whether Jewish law can adapt to modernity, these scholars have not addressed the experiences and needs of Jewish women who are agunot . The primary contribution of this dissertation is therefore to analyze the structural inequality in Jewish divorce law through examining the individual life circumstances of agunot , contextualizing and theorizing their collective experiences, and proposing that the denial of a get should be seen as a form of abuse. Another contribution of this dissertation is its exploration of potential remedies for alleviating or ending the problem of agunot in contemporary Judaism. It also details the activities of Jewish women\'s organizations that have advocated on behalf of agunot in Ontario, Canada and internationally.

The research for this dissertation includes the analysis of interdisciplinary textual sources, but is centered on the analysis of interviews conducted with (1) agunot and former agunot living in cities across Canada; (2) the rabbis to whom they turn for help; (3) leaders of the International Coalition for Agunot Rights; (4) leaders of the Canadian Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get ; (5) leaders of the Toronto committee of the Canadian Coalitionof Jewish Women for the Gets ; (6) leaders of the Toronto Committee on Get ; and (7) Jewish women who have had a \"non-problematic\" time receiving their gittin . The experience of agunot in Canada provides an interesting model because of the amount of activism in support of their plight, a model that may be applicable to Jewish communities elsewhere.

MPACT Scores for Faye Lisa Rosenberg

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C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
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W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-02-25 13:42:36

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