This file is copyright of Jens Schriver (c) It originates from the Evil House of Cheat More essays can always be found at: --- http://www.CheatHouse.com --- ... and contact can always be made to: Webmaster@cheathouse.com -------------------------------------------------------------- Essay Name : 1548.txt Uploader : mike Email Address : Language : english Subject : Religion Title : women in judaism Grade : a- School System : fsu Country : us Author Comments : a good paper Teacher Comments : Date : Site found at : -------------------------------------------------------------- February, 14, 1996 Women and Jewish Law I am not happy in my marriage of ten years and have wanted a divorce for some time. My husband is a mechanic at a garage and we only have sex about once a week and it is not always satisfying. I have recently cheated and have become pregnant, but he does not know anything of this yet. On what grounds can I get a divorce? Is an abortion out of the question? What are my options according to your understanding of the Halakhah? The following is an interpretation of the Torah and the Oral Torah by Rabbi Azaroff to a married woman: The first issue that has to be addressed is, "Do you have any rights in the matter of not having enough sex?". The answer to this question is yes. The law that states this is called Onah. Onah is one of the special rights a woman has, and it is a key part of the life of the family (Biale, 40). It is the law that states a guideline for sexual relations between the husband and the wife. This law was established by the rabbis to require a man to satisfy his wife's sexual needs. Onah was derived from a passage in Halakhah which states the three minimum rights for a female sold into slavery, "...he must not withhold from this one her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. If he fails her in these three ways, she shall be freed..." (Exodus 21 : 7-11, cited by Biale, 126). The Talmud then concludes that if these are the rights of the woman in slavery, than they should definitely be the minimal rights of a free woman. It states in two separate parts that "...onah defines the frequency of sexual relations that a woman is entitled by the law" and that "...denying a married woman her sexual rights would cause her pain and suffering" (Biale, 126). The laws of onah require a frequency of sex and directs the husband to make sure that his wife is pleased. The fact that you do not gain pleasure from the sex that you and your husband have is one indication that you're husband has not fulfilled the law of onah. The amount that you have sex per period of time is also important. The Mishnah states a specific timetable for the frequency of sexual relations. The timetable was established in a way that would allow the husband to practice his trade and also fulfill his marital obligation. The woman should know that when she enters into marriage with this man, she not only excepts the best economic way of life that he can provide, but there is also a certain sex that life she can expect from the marriage. "The times for conjugal duty prescribed in the Torah are: "...for laborers, twice a week..." (Ketubot 61b, cited by Biale, 129). So according to the Torah and the Talmud, your husband is required to have sex with you twice a week and you must be satisfied. According to the Talmud's ruling for a female slave that she should be able to leave her master, so should you because your conjugal rights were not fulfilled. The next issue that must be dealt with is that you sought another man and committed adultery. Adultery is considered an act of sexual transgression (giluy arayot). Adultery is a very serious issue to the Rabbis because of the danger it poses to a marriage as well as societal structure. (Biale, 175). The rules of the Halakhah in biblical times state that a woman "'is forbidden to the world' (asurah le-kulei alma). But a married man is free to have sexual relations with any other woman as long as she herself is single and available (penuyah)" (Biale, 183). This was however in biblical times. Times have changed since then and men have too have come to abide by the woman's restrictions of marriage. This is mainly because of the Christian influence in which polygamy is not permitted. In the bible, the punishment for adultery was that "the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death" (Leviticus 20 : 10, cited by Biale, 184). There is however a lesser penalty that can be chosen for the woman. Deuteronomy 24 states, "that suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, and so he write her a certificate of divorce...". This passage indicates that adultery could be the "something objectionable" to the man and he can therefore divorce the woman. If "she fails to please him because he finds some [matter of] indecency [ervat davar] in her" he may also divorce her. (Deuteronomy 24 : 1, cited by Biale, 73). There are however, questions about this such as, what is the meaning of "matter of indecency" and the meaning behind the clause of "because he finds ervat davar with her" (Biale, 73). In the Mishnah, Bet Shammai states that "a man should not divorce his wife unless he has found her guilty of some sexual misconduct as it is said: 'because he has found some matter of indecency in her'" (Gitton 90a-b, cited by Biale, 73). The key to the argument here is, what understanding of matter of indecency is to be interpreted? Many different Rabbis have interpreted it to mean different things, but "ervah is actually the biblical term for a prohibited sexual relation" and "davar means 'thing' or 'matter'" (Biale, 75). Bet Hillel did not believe that ervat davar necessarily meant that it could only be an act of sexual transgression, but that it could mean anything that indicates something indecent or unseemly (Biale, 75) On this matter, Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai were not able come to an agreement. Bet Hillel's interpretation does not go outside of the realm of meaning of Bet Shammai's argument, so Bet Hillel's argument tends to be the more accepted judgement. In your situation, it must become known to your husband that you had committed adultery and with this knowledge, he should hand you a writ of divorce because you had committed an act of ervat davar. The final issue that needs to be dealt with is the abortion that you want of the fetus to whom you do not know the father of. First, it is important to know that the Halakhah does not address the issue of elective abortion. It only discusses an accidental abortion (a miscarriage), so because of this, we must rely on the oral Torah for an answer to your question. The issue of the accidental abortion however does bring up a good point, and that is that the fetus in not necessarily a person. When it is killed in the accidental abortion, it is not a capital crime and therefore there is no capital punishment for its death. The biblical law in Exodus 21 gives the fetus the status of an object, and not that of a person (Biale, p 220-221). This gives a good indication of how Jewish tradition views the fetus. It is seen as an object and not a person. Jacob Emden is one of the only halakhists who wrote on the subject of the abortion of a fetus that was conceived through adultery. His reply is "about a married woman who had whored and it is a very good question, and I according to my views, would lean toward permitting her [to abort] if I were worthy of giving a ruling. For, it seems to me that there is room to be lenient since she committed adultery..." (Jacob Emden, Responsa She'elat Ya'avetz, cited by Biale, 226). The reason that Biale sees that the woman having an abortion as lenient, is that he is referring back to Leviticus 20. It states there that an adulteress should be sentenced to death. In the case of the execution of a pregnant woman, it is mandatory for her to have an abortion before her execution anyway. This however, was not the final word on the situation. The situation that Emden discussed was brought to Yair Barach (Biale, 226). Bachrach's opinion differed from Emden's in that he agreed with the Christian belief that allowing the abortion would not help to keep prevent future promiscuity (Biale, 227). When the roles are switched though and the fetus is "legitimate", Emden feels that abortion is permitted in life-threatening circumstances and when there is a "great need." (Biale, 227) Emden's opinion however is not the official word on the matter of abortion. The Talmud has several passages which lean to the side of prohibiting abortion (Biale, 228). The most recent rulings in Israel would permit abortions, but they are restricted. Abortion is permitted in "cases of serious hazard to the mother; conception from adultery, fetus pregnancy, and rape; suspicion of severe birth defects and congenital disease; and of pressing socioeconomic factors which would prevent the parents from providing the essentials of a healthy environment" (Biale, 237). The most recent rulings in Israel would permit the abortion under the circumstances described. According to the Halakhah and Oral Torah, there is no reason why you cannot be granted a divorce and have the abortion if you so choose. The divorce could be granted on two grounds. The first being that your husband is not fulfilling your conjugal rights and therefore, you are unhappy with the marriage. You can ask "to be freed" from the marriage like the female slave was in biblical times. Secondly, you can tell your husband about the affair you had and the chances are good that he will hand you the "writ of divorce" because he has found this affair as a "matter of indecency". Your abortion could come be permitted for two reasons. Firstly, the fact that the fetus was conceived through adultery, or the fact that you will, if you get your way, be divorced and therefore the newborn child would not be brought into a healthy environment. It is with my understanding of Jewish Law, that there is no reason why you cannot do as you wish and regain your status of being a single woman. --------------------------------------------------------------