We wish to express our emphatic support for Rabbi Simcha Krauss and the International Beit Din for addressing the heretofore-intractable problem of agunot (chained women), (“Leading Rabbi Deals Big Blow To Agunot,” Sept. 4).
As members of the Young Israel of Hillcrest, we have known Rabbi Krauss for more than 25 years in the capacity of rabbi, teacher and posek [rabbinic decisor]. We can attest that Rabbi Krauss is a rabbinic scholar of the highest caliber and that all his teachings and decisions are made with the greatest respect for halacha. The agunah problem is a human tragedy that cries out for a solution. This requires the best minds in Orthodoxy, of which Rabbi Krauss is one. The solution also requires rabbinic leadership of a positive nature, a role Rabbi Krauss has filled in the past and continues to fill.
Rabbi Krauss’s beit din is certainly a hopeful starting point. We strongly encourage all constituents of Orthodox Jewry and the rabbinate to work cooperatively and constructively with Rabbi Krauss and the International Beit Din as they take the lead in fashioning a solution to this problem.
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