Last Wednesday, Rabbi Jeremy Stern, the Executive Director of ORA, the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, spoke to the Yeshivah of Flatbush senior girls about domestic abuse, the modern day Agunah crisis, and the Halakhik Prenup. Through various sources provided, the senior girls explored Rabbinic sources relating to Jewish divorce and the fact that it is the man who holds the dominant and active rule. Rabbi Stern explained the different motives men have for withholding a
Get (Jewish divorce papers), be it financial motivations or in spite, and how regardless, it is an abuse act. His messages tied in nicely with the Senior girls' Halakhah curriculum of the laws of marriage and provided greater insight on the different ways in which Halakhah works to empower women and give them greater control during marriage and divorce agreements. He also explained the importance of signing a Halakhik Prenup before getting married, reminding us that friends don't let friends get married without one. ~Esther Levy, Class of 2017
