Standards and
Guidelines
with respect to Get
Proceedings
at the Beth Din of
America
1. The Beth Din of America is careful to
treat every person with sensitivity and compassion, and tries to make
the Get proceeding as smooth and as comfortable as possible for the
parties.
2. The Beth Din of America provides to all parties a
concise, easy-to-follow summary of the procedures relating to the giving
of a Get so that the parties can be prepared for the process.
3.
The Beth Din of America employs women on the Beth Din staff who are
available to provide emotional and moral support to women who come to
the Beth Din for a Get. The Beth Din is also supportive of women who
bring friends to accompany them during the Get proceeding.
4. The Beth Din of America clearly
communicates its fees for a Get procedure at the beginning of the Get
process.
5. Although the fees charged by the Beth
Din of America are reasonable, the Beth Din of America will subsidize
and, when appropriate, even waive the fee based on financial need, and
never deny a party the right to a Get based on financial
difficulties.
6. The Beth Din of America does not
charge a fee for the prompt issuance of hazmanos (summonses) or a Seruv
against a recalcitrant spouse. A Seruv is issued in appropriate
circumstances when a party refuses to appear before the Beth Din or
abide by the decision of the Beth Din.
7. When desirable because of logistical
and/or emotional reasons, the Beth Din of America will arrange for the
husband to appoint a proxy to deliver the Get to his wife after the
husband has left the Beth Din office so that the parties need not appear
together.
8. The Beth Din of America does
everything in its power to resolve potential Agunah situations, and will
even travel to people's offices and homes when necessary in order to
make sure that a Get is provided.
9. In accordance with the view of
Rabbeinu Tam, the Beth Din of America believes in withholding privileges
(such as shul membership, burial rites, social acceptance and business
relationships, as appropriate) from husbands who are recalcitrant as a
matter of Jewish law and, when appropriate, will issue a decree
requiring that such privileges are withheld by the
community.
10. When a husband and wife agree to come
to the Beth Din to adjudicate financial (and where appropriate,
custodial) matters relating to the end of their marriage, the Beth
Din of America finalizes the Get at the beginning of the proceeding
between the parties.
11. The Beth Din of America agrees that
Heter Me'ah Rabbanim should be used only in extreme cases, such as
severe and irreversible mental illness.
12. The Beth Din of America will not
perform a Heter Me'ah Rabbanim without a hashlashas haget - a Get
provided for the woman and held in escrow by the Beth Din to be
delivered to the woman as soon as she is prepared to accept it. The Beth
Din of America will not perform a Heter Me'ah Rabbanim when the woman is
prepared to accept a Get.
13. The Beth Din of America believes
strongly in the continuing force today of Cherem De'Rabbeinu Gershom
which prohibits polygamy. The Beth Din will not permit a man to marry or
to date other women until he has delivered a Get to his
wife.
14. The Beth Din of America provides a
warm, dignified and private environment for the administration of the
Get and scrupulously preserves the privacy of the
parties.
15. The Beth Din of America attends to
each couple promptly upon their arrival and generally completes the Get
within a time span of one hour.
16. There will be no a priori
requirements under the aegis of the Beth Din of America for issuing a
Get.
17. The Beth Din of America records each
Din Torah session and provides copies of the recordings to each party
upon request.
18. The rules concerning ZABLA
proceedings and attorney representation in the context of Dinei Torah
are set forth in the Rules and Procedures of the Beth Din.
19.
The Beth Din of America supports organizations which undertake to help Agunot and their children by providing them with as many services as
possible.
The Beth Din of America is available to
answer any questions or address any concerns that members of the
community may have with respect to its procedures. We urge people to
call us at 212-807-9042 or to send a fax to 212-807-9183.
Beth Din
Publications
About
the Beth Din
Copyright 1999 Beth
Din of America
305 Seventh
Avenue,
12th floor, New York, N.Y.
10001
Tel: (212) 807-9042 Fax:
(212) 807-9183
Send mail to menahel@bethdin.org
