The IDF has always been considered as the “army of the people.” The original meaning of the expression referred to the universal draft and reserves, as well as the overwhelming response of Israelis to the call to arms when war breaks out.
Beyond that, during the present year-long war, the IDF has added a deeper meaning to the phrase. The military instituted programs to see to the resilience of the civilian public through the Home Front Command. Moreover, actual battalions have seen to the emotional health of their soldiers’ wives and children by providing communication links to those reservists in battle beyond our borders, “fun days” for families, and the like.
The IDF Rabbinate has taken the care of the wives left behind to a higher level. In a historic development of Jewish law, Lt. Col. Rabbi Avihud (Udi) Schwartz, of the IDF Rabbinate, has answered the call of civilians concerned with the possibility of wartime agunot, chained wives.
As previously explained on these pages (“Wartime agunot,” March 18, 2024) Jewish law provides preventative solutions to the classic agunah – one whose husband has disappeared or is not competent to give his wife a get [or refuses to do so]. This disastrous situation leaves a woman chained to her marriage for the remainder of her days.
One of these solutions, drawn up by Rabbi Shlomo Goren as the first chief rabbi of the IDF, is a document signed by a married soldier authorizing a rabbinical court to arrange a get for his wife under specified conditions. Until now, the IDF “authorization to give a get in wartime” – harsha’ah l’get – conditioned the arrangement of a Jewish divorce on the disappearance of the husband during his military service for the span of a year, while the chief rabbi of the IDF had no knowledge of signs of life. Over the decades, the original document has been further polished, and soldiers who were aware of the authorization document, have signed it under the direction of an IDF rabbinic chaplain.
In March 2024, a special meeting was convened by the Knesset’s Committee for the Advancement of Women to discuss the possibility of the agunah problem arising during the war.
Representatives of rabbinic and women’s organizations clarified the problem, specifically addressing Lt. Col. Rabbi Schwartz, saying that due to present medical technology an additional condition is required in the IDF document. The IDF authorization to give a get must also stipulate that if the husband is incapacitated to the point that he is alive but, according to Jewish law, deemed incapable of giving a get, the Rabbinical Court can act as his proxy and free his wife. For example, a soldier suffering a head trauma or falling into a permanent vegetative state could cause his wife to become a classic agunah – with no possibility of remarrying.
Follow up committee
THE KNESSET committee reconvened in a follow-up session on November 19. Lt. Col. Rabbi Schwartz, as head of the Jewish Law-Halacha Department of the IDF Rabbinate, reported that following intense study and deliberations, the condition of halachic incapacity to divorce was added to the IDF document. This is a crucial example of rabbis rising to the challenge of solving a heretofore unknown halachic problem – from within the halacha and through the development of halacha. Lt. Col. Rabbi Schwartz is to be commended for directing the development of the halachic terminology and incorporation of the stipulation into the IDF document. Furthermore, he is wisely presenting the wording to leading rabbis, in order to create a consensus on its validity.
The next step is to have the IDF develop a strategic mechanism for the dissemination of the updated authorization document to all married soldiers and reservists. Suggestions were made to include the document at the point of reporting for duty, as a matter of course, similar to the filling out of other forms which relate to dire possibilities.
Lt. Col. Rabbi Schwartz reported that he brought this issue for discussion to the IDF adjutant general branch and other officers. Due to the general agreement that presenting the soldiers with this document would psychologically damage morale and the soldiers’ martial spirit, a decision was made not to distribute the document. The Rabbinate would honor any request of individual soldiers and arrange the signing of the authorization but would not initiate the suggestion.
The stance of the IDF at this point is not to be taken lightly, but the worry can be relieved in two manners. Firstly, a document that includes an authorization to give a get, such as the Tripartite Agreement (jewishprenup.org) should be signed as a matter of course at the time of marriage, thereby protecting all brides.
Secondly, just as the IDF has devoted resources to strengthening the resilience of the civilian families with thought and action, it would behoove the military of the Jewish state to consider the potential tragedy of the soldiers’ wives more deeply. The IDF’s own military psychologists can be brought into the picture to develop the proper methodology of disseminating the IDF authorization to give a get.
Simultaneously, the Israeli public should enter into discourse and promote education regarding this subject in the general society – likening it to life insurance as an act of love. By simply reading this article and discussing it with friends you may protect your wife, mother, and daughters by bringing the authorization to give a get to the soldiers’ and reservists’ attention.
The writer is the director of the Agunah and Get-Refusal Prevention Project of Young Israel in Israel and the Jewish Agency; a PhD in rabbinic law; an author of the “Agreement for Mutual Respect” (yiisrael.com); author of Spare Your Eyes Tears (Hebrew) on halachic prenuptial agreements; member, Beit Hillel-Attentive Spiritual Leadership; and the first female rabbinical court advocate to sit on the Commission for the Appointment of Rabbinical Court Judges.