Heter meah rabbanim

Heter meah rabbanim ( Hebrew : היתר מאה רבנים, "permission by one hundred rabbis") is a term in Jewish law which means that one hundred Rabbis agree with a Rabbinical court that a particular situation warrants an exemption to permit a man to remarry even though his wife refuses or is unable to accept a get (a legal divorce according to Jewish law ). In about 1000 C.E. the Ashkenazic halachic authority Rabbeinu Gershom of Mainz issued a decree called " Cherem de'Rabbeinu Gershom " banning bigamy . To prevent this decree from causing flippant divorces previously unnecessary, he also decreed that "a woman may not be divorced against her will." In certain extreme cases, however, such as the case of a man whose wife is missing, or refuses to accept a get for an extended period, Beth din will only permit him to remarry after one hundred rabbis agree with them to issue an exemption. After receiving a heter meah rabbanim , Beth din will require the husband to write a get for his wife and deposit it with them. His wife will remain married until she receives the get in her possession. To ensure that a particular situation indeed justifies an exemption, the rabbis instituted a requirement, that at least one hundred Torah scholars domiciled in at least three different countries or, according to some authorities, it is enough three different jurisdictions, certify that dispensation for a second marriage is factually justified. In order to get a heter meah rabbonim , it used to be that a man who got the go ahead from a Rabbinic court wandered from town to town and from one country to another with a letter from Beth din and had to plead his case with every town Rabbi to get his approval. Later on, written permission by mail was accepted and sometimes an intermediary was used to plead his case. In the last century with the ease of communication, it has become a more formal process in which Beth din takes the lead and secures the one hundred signatures required. Situations where Beth din might see a justification which warrants this process includes: Where the Halacha requires a man to divorce his wife and she refuses to accept it. Where the wife has abandoned her husband and steadfastly refuses to accept a get . Where the wife disappeared and her whereabouts are unknown. Where the wife is mentally unable to give consent to receiving a get .

Heter meah rabbanim ( Hebrew : היתר מאה רבנים "permission by one hundred rabbis") is a term in Jewish law which means that one hundred Rabbis agree with a Beth din (rabbinical court) that a particular situation warrants an exemption to permit a man to remarry even though his wife refuses or is unable to accept a get (a legal divorce according to Jewish law ). In about 1000 CE the Ashkenazic halachic authority Rabbeinu Gershom of Mainz issued a decree called " Cherem de'Rabbeinu Gershom " banning polygamy . To prevent this decree from causing flippant divorces previously unnecessary, he also decreed that "a woman may not be divorced against her will". In certain extreme cases, however, such as the case of a man whose wife is missing, or refuses to accept a get for an extended period, Beth din will only permit him to remarry after one hundred rabbis agree with them to issue an exemption. After receiving a heter meah rabbanim , Beth din will require the husband to write a get for his wife and deposit it with them. His wife will remain married until she receives the get in her possession. To ensure that a particular situation indeed justifies an exemption, the rabbis instituted a requirement, that at least one hundred Torah scholars domiciled in at least three different countries or, according to some authorities, it is enough three different jurisdictions, certify that dispensation for a second marriage is factually justified. In order to get a heter meah rabbonim , it used to be that a man who got the go ahead from a Rabbinic court wandered from town to town and from one country to another with a letter from Beth din and had to plead his case with every town Rabbi to get his approval. Later on, written permission by mail was accepted and sometimes an intermediary was used to plead his case. In the last century with the ease of communication, it has become a more formal process in which Beth din takes the lead and secures the one hundred signatures required. Situations where Beth din might see a justification which warrants this process includes: Where the Halacha requires a man to divorce his wife and she refuses to accept it (e.g. some situations of adultery ). Where the wife has abandoned her husband and steadfastly refuses to accept a get . Where the wife disappeared and her whereabouts are unknown. Where the wife is mentally unable to give consent to receiving a get . Where the wife has fallen into an irreversible coma due to illness or injury. In the last two of these cases, the Beth din will, as a condition of the heter, demand a binding undertaking from the husband that he will continue to provide for his wife's care.

Heter meah rabbanim ( "permission by one hundred rabbis") is a term in Jewish law which means that one hundred Rabbis agree with a beth din (rabbinical court) that a particular situation warrants an exemption to permit a man to remarry even though his wife refuses or is unable to accept a get (a legal divorce according to Jewish law ). This solution is available for the man to remarry, but the woman does not have this same exemption of remarrying by receiving permission from 100 rabbis to divorce without the man's approval. In about 1000 CE the Ashkenazic halachic authority Rabbeinu Gershom of Mainz is said to have issued four decrees through his court. His bans included a decree prohibiting polygamy , and a decree prohibiting a man from divorcing a woman without her consent. Three centuries later Asher ben Jehiel explained why Rabbeinu Gershom issued his ban: "Because he saw the generations unbounded and 'throwing the divorce' so he decreed to equate the powers of the woman to the powers of the man." Even though, Rabbeinu Gershom, the leading authority of the age, decreed that a man was not allowed to divorce a woman against her will, the force of his decree was mitigated by later authorities who allowed for an exemption in certain extreme cases, in which they granted permission for a man to marry another woman if he received permission from 100 rabbis, meah rabbanim. Examples of cases where 100 rabbis allowed for a man to marry a second wife include the case of a man whose wife went missing, or refused to accept a get for an extended period. In such cases as these, Beth din will only permit him to remarry after one hundred rabbis agree with them to issue an exemption. To ensure that a particular situation indeed justifies an exemption, the rabbis instituted a requirement, that at least one hundred Torah scholars domiciled in at least three countries or, according to some authorities, three jurisdictions, certify that dispensation for a second marriage is factually justified. In order to get a heter meah rabbonim , it used to be that a man who got the go ahead from a Rabbinic court wandered from town to town and from one country to another with a letter from Beth din and had to plead his case with every town Rabbi to get his approval. Later on, written permission by mail was accepted and sometimes an intermediary was used to plead his case. In the last century with the ease of communication, it has become a more formal process in which Beth din takes the lead and secures the one hundred signatures required. Situations where Beth din might see a justification which warrants this process include: Where the Halacha requires a man to divorce his wife and she refuses to accept it (e.g. some situations of adultery ). Where the wife has abandoned her husband and steadfastly refuses to accept a get . Where the wife disappeared and her whereabouts are unknown. Where the wife is mentally unable to give consent to receiving a get . Where the wife has fallen into an irreversible coma due to illness or injury. In the last two of these cases, the Beth din will, as a condition of the heter, demand a binding undertaking from the husband that he will continue to provide for his wife's care. The Heter meah rabbanim is a source of controversy for religious Jews today. In 2014, the New York Times reported on one man, Meir Kin, who refused to divorce his first wife but then married another. Citation from the Heb. wiki article "Heter Meah Rabbanim".

Jewish legal term permitting remarriage Heter meah rabbanim ( ) is a term in Jewish law which means that one hundred Rabbis agree with a beth din (rabbinical court) that a particular situation warrants an exemption to permit a man to remarry even though his wife refuses or is unable to accept a get (a legal divorce according to Jewish law ). This solution is available for the man to remarry due to the fact that according to Torah law, a man may be married to more than one woman, and even with the Heter, he is still considered married to the first woman. However, since a woman cannot be married to two men and must receive a bill of divorce according to Torah law in order to be considered single, there is no Heter to receive permission from 100 rabbis to remarry without a divorce. In about 1000 CE the Ashkenazic halachic authority Rabbeinu Gershom of Mainz is said to have issued four decrees through his court. His bans included a decree prohibiting polygamy , and a decree prohibiting a man from divorcing a woman without her consent. Three centuries later Asher ben Jehiel explained why Rabbeinu Gershom issued his ban: "Because he saw the generations unbounded and 'throwing the divorce' so he decreed to equate the powers of the woman to the powers of the man." Even though, Rabbeinu Gershom, the leading authority of the age, decreed that a man was not allowed to divorce a woman against her will, the force of his decree was mitigated by later authorities who allowed for an exemption in certain extreme cases, in which they granted permission for a man to marry another woman if he received permission from 100 rabbis ( meah rabbanim ). Examples of cases where 100 rabbis allowed for a man to marry a second wife include the case of a man whose wife went missing, or refused to accept a get for an extended period. In such cases as these, the beth din will permit him to remarry only after one hundred rabbis agree with them to issue an exemption. To ensure that a particular situation justifies an exemption, the rabbis instituted a requirement, that at least one hundred Torah scholars domiciled in at least three countries or, according to some authorities, three jurisdictions, certify that dispensation for a second marriage is justified. In order to get a heter meah rabbanim , it used to be that a man who got the go ahead from a rabbinic court wandered from town to town and from one country to another with a letter from a beth din and had to plead his case with every town rabbi to get his approval. Later on, written permission by mail was accepted and sometimes an intermediary was used to plead his case. In the last century with the ease of communication, it has become a more formal process in which the beth din takes the lead and secures the one hundred signatures required. Situations where the beth din might see a justification which warrants this process include: Where halacha (Jewish religious law) requires a man to divorce his wife and she refuses to accept it (e.g., some situations of adultery ). Where the wife has abandoned her husband and steadfastly refuses to accept a get . Where the wife disappeared and her whereabouts are unknown. Where the wife is mentally unable to give consent to receiving a get . Where the wife has fallen into an irreversible coma due to illness or injury. In the last two of these cases, the beth din will, as a condition of the heter , demand a binding undertaking from the husband that he will continue to provide for his wife's care. The heter meah rabbanim is a source of controversy for religious Jews today. In 2014, the New York Times reported on one man, Meir Kin, who refused to divorce his first wife but then married another.