Volume 67, Issue 4

Our Responsibility – Agunot

From the perspective of the college student, it seems intuitive to write off the agunah problem as pertaining only to communal organizations. Legal bodies such as the Beit Din of America possess the halachic authority to punish or even excommunicate recalcitrant husbands; students may not control even their own finances. They fecklessly ignore the sad reality that despite the widespread public rallying on behalf of agunot in recent years, the problem refuses to disappear.

ORA, the Yeshiva student-led Organization for Resolution of Agunot, has innovatively brought the capacity for combating the agunah problem to college students. By educating family and friends of husbands, and by staging protests outside homes, ORA has already encouraged resolutions to two agunah cases. The enthusiasm of college students has produced within months results that the legal organizations could not accomplish over many years. We encourage YU students to join ORA and participate in their programs. College students have always excelled at civil protest. It is time for Yeshiva students to join this worthy fight.

We also suggest that students incorporate raising awareness for agunot into their wedding ceremonies. Every YU bridegroom should sign the Beit Din of America’s prenuptial agreement at his chosson’s tisch. Some couples are going further and reading the agreement under the chupah together with the ketuvah. By committing publicly, a couple establishes a standard of responsible behavior for the entire community. Let us no longer refer to the community’s agunah problem, for it is ours. We must join them in eliminating it.  

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