Aguna

In Jewish culture, the Hebrew term Aguna (plural: agunot), meaning “chained” or “bound,” refers to a woman who cannot terminate her marriage because her husband refuses or is unable to give her a get, a bill of divorce, rendering her unable to remarry under religious law. This situation is one of the most complex and contentious issues in Jewish family law (halakha). The root of the problem lies in traditional Jewish law, which holds that divorce can only be effected when the husband voluntarily delivers a get to his wife, and rabbinical courts (bet din) have limited authority to enforce this due to the principle of the husband’s free will.

Marriage and Divorce in Judaism

In Judaism, marriage and the family unit are regarded as religious commandments and sacred acts. Jewish sacred texts encourage marriage and the continuation of lineage. Within this context, divorce is viewed negatively and condemned as the termination of a covenant witnessed by God. Nevertheless, divorce is recognized as a social reality and permitted under necessary circumstances.

According to Jewish law, the authority to initiate divorce rests solely with the husband. The Book of Deuteronomy in the Torah states that if a man finds “something indecent” in his wife, he may end the marriage by giving her a written bill of divorce (get or sefer keritot). The process involves the husband writing the document, delivering it to his wife, and sending her away. The validity of the divorce depends entirely on the husband’s free and uncoerced delivery of the get. Without this document, a woman cannot be considered divorced under religious law and is forbidden from remarrying.

Causes of the Aguna Status

A woman may become an aguna due to various historical and modern causes:

Husband’s Disappearance or Unproven Death

During periods of war, natural disasters, or mass migrations, a husband may vanish without definitive proof of death. Under Jewish law, two male witnesses are normally required to establish an event, but in aguna cases, certain leniencies have been permitted—such as accepting the testimony of a single witness—to alleviate the woman’s plight.

Husband’s Inability to Deliver a Get

If a husband loses his mental capacity, falls into a vegetative state, or enters a coma, he is legally incapable of delivering a get. In such cases, the wife remains an aguna until her husband recovers or dies.

Husband’s Refusal to Grant a Divorce

This is the most common cause of aguna status today. A husband may refuse to give a get to seek revenge, extract financial concessions, gain advantage in child custody disputes, or maintain control over his wife.

Levirate Marriage (Yibbum) and Halitzah Issues

If a woman’s husband dies childless, Jewish law requires her to marry his brother (yibbum) or obtain a release document called halitzah from him. If the brother refuses to grant halitzah, the woman becomes an aguna.

Invalid Get Document

If the divorce document is not written in strict accordance with the detailed and meticulous requirements of Jewish law, the divorce is rendered invalid, and the woman may become an aguna.

Legal and Social Consequences

The aguna status imposes serious religious, legal, and social consequences on women:

• Inability to Remarry: As she is still considered married under religious law, an aguna cannot marry another man.
• Adultery and Mamzerut Status: If an aguna divorces civilly and remarries, she is considered to have committed adultery under Jewish law. Children born from such a union are classified as mamzer (illegitimate), a status that imposes a severe restriction prohibiting them from marrying legitimate Jews for generations.
• Social and Psychological Pressure: Women in aguna status may be blamed by their communities for failing to preserve “domestic peace” (shalom bayit) and face social pressure to reconcile with their husbands. They may be forced to submit to blackmail and threats aimed at compelling their husbands to issue a get.
• Difference Between Israel and the Diaspora: A non-religious Jewish woman living in the Diaspora may not consider herself an aguna after obtaining a civil divorce. However, in Israel, where marriage and divorce are governed by religious law, the aguna issue creates binding legal and social hardships for all Jewish women, regardless of their level of religious observance.

Search for Solutions and Diverse Approaches

Throughout history, Jewish scholars have developed various methods to address the aguna problem. These approaches and modern adaptations are accepted to varying degrees among different Jewish denominations.

Conditional Get (Get al Tenai)

The husband gives a get that becomes effective only if he fails to return by a specified date, typically before embarking on a dangerous journey or war. This method is traditionally traced back to the time of King David.

Annulment of Marriage (Hafka’at Kiddushin)

A rabbinical court retroactively invalidates the marriage. This approach is based on the Talmudic principle that “when a man marries a woman, he does so under conditions established by the sages, and the sages may annul his marriage.” However, this method is rarely used because its validity is often not recognized by other rabbinic authorities and carries the risk of non-recognition in other jurisdictions.

Compelling the Husband to Grant a Divorce (Kefiyah)

The bet din applies social and economic pressure on a husband who refuses to give a get, in an effort to persuade him to comply. In Israel, the state has granted rabbinical courts the authority to impose sanctions such as travel bans, freezing bank accounts, and even imprisonment. However, the requirement of “free will” limits the extent to which these measures can be applied.

Prenuptial Agreements

Today, especially within Orthodox circles, this is the most widely accepted method to prevent the aguna problem. Through such agreements, the husband commits to paying a specified amount of spousal support if he refuses to give a get, creating a financial incentive for him to comply. Institutions such as the Rabbinical Council of America support such agreements.

Denominational Approaches

• Reform Judaism has eliminated the requirement for a get entirely and recognizes civil divorce as sufficient, providing a fundamental solution to the problem.
• Conservative Judaism continues to uphold the necessity of a get but supports adding clauses to the marriage contract (ketubah) that facilitate divorce, such as mandatory arbitration or financial penalties for refusal.
• Reconstructionist Judaism recognizes civil divorce as valid but encourages traditional religious divorce ceremonies in which both parties mutually agree to exchange a get, adapting the traditional framework to modern values.