ORTHODOX FEMINISTS OPPOSE EGALITARIAN DIVORCE

“Orthodox” feminists are not seeking egalitarian divorce principles, they actually oppose such principles.

Unlike the modern feminist hypocrites, ancient rabbis actually leaned toward egalitarian or else equitable marriage and divorce principles.

The feminists are often adamantly opposed to the normative Jewish law principle that Jewish wives may not arbitrarily (IE without a just cause) divorce their husbands without the husband’s consent.

However, the feminists never discuss the fact that since the Middle Ages, Ashkenazi Jewish husbands (and very possibly some Sephardim) have also been prohibited from arbitrarily divorcing their wives without the consent of their wives.

These halachot are discussed in Shulchan Aruch (the Jewish law code), Evan HaEzer Chapter 117, and in other places. In chapter 117, the Jewish law code rules that a husband may forcibly divorce his wife if she suffers from a severe physical affliction such as epilepsy.

Likewise, a Jewish wife may force divorce on her husband if he suffers from a severe physical affliction such as epilepsy. (This discussion refers to severe afflictions that are untreatable by modern medical science).

In the case of less severe physical afflictions, it does not appear that either spouse can simply force a divorce on the other spouse.

Subjective and emotional complaints such as “we grew apart” or “we fell out of love” are probably not recognized by Jewish law as grounds for divorce, as there is no way to know if the spouse demanding divorce has “cast their eyes on another one”.

The real problem that “Orthodox” feminists have with Jewish law is NOT that it is “misogynist” or “sexist”, the real problem is that feminists demand double standards of justice but halacha leans too much toward “egalitarianism”!