Regarding “New Agunah Court Could Hinge On Haredi Rabbis” (Dec. 13): Throughout the centuries there have been various takanahs [decrees] involving divorce. During the Babylonian period there was a more liberal view regarding divorce and during the time of the Rambam a stricter adherence in giving a divorce. During the 19th century in Germany there was a high divorce rate due to the rise of financial status of women and the migration of Jews in Eastern Europe. The majority of these women were granted divorces in order to preserve the community. Be that as it may there is no reason today for women to be at the mercy of bet dins that do not allow a woman a divorce from her husband — whatever the reason.
Rabbi Krauss should be applauded for this great step — as well as other like-minded individuals who have stood up to the status quo in regards to other derisive situations that have sullied the Jewish community in the past few years.
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