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The rabbinical court in Tel Aviv saw many things, but in such a rare case, they probably haven't had to rule yet.
An ultra-Orthodox woman who joined an energetic therapy and mystical channeling group shared her experiences of having relationships with demons, which led him to consult a rabbi who ordered him to burn her mattress. She demanded 18 million shekels.
After holding no less than six hearings in which it devoted a great deal of time to hearing the parties, the impression received was that the marriage of the parties had run aground, after the husband insisted that the wife end a relationship with an energetic therapy group to which she had connected, while his insistence was accompanied by actions that the court defined as "manifestly improper, bordering on real abuse", and therefore the court defined as an issue of "chicken and egg question" on whom to blame for the divorce.
Burnt mattress. "Manifestly improper actions, bordering on actual abuse"/ShutterStock
The court addressed the argument that the woman changed her ultra-Orthodox lifestyle and began to live in excessive permissiveness, not afraid to hug a stranger in public or lay hands on him while standing for a joint photo - but that the court is not detached from reality and in light of the decline of generations, the judge, Rabbi Raphael Gleb, expressed doubt whether actions that were once considered clear grounds for divorce can now be considered a deviation from the rising permissiveness.
However, the analysis of the facts revealed additional revelations, the main one being the woman's close relationship with the leader of the group, with whom she traveled abroad for several days (against her husband's consent) and involvement in external channeling, which caused the woman to behave and express herself in such a way that she supposedly had conjugal relations with demons.
In the wake of these events, the husband was called upon to consult a rabbi who ordered him to burn the wife's mattress and mystical communication cards with the world of demons and spirits that the wife purchased for tens of thousands of shekels and placed under her bed.
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Demons. Ketubah is a binding legal document/ShutterStock
The rabbi's advice was recorded by the husband on a portable drive, which the wife happened to find among the family Passover utensils in their knowledge. The court's exposure to these recordings led to the determination that it was the husband's actions that pushed the marriage to an end, but a thorough examination led to the determination that the husband's actions originated in his attempts to cut off his wife from that group and return her to normal family life.
Under these circumstances, even though the court did not spare criticism of the husband's actions, it was determined that the wife was to blame for the divorce and hence she also lost her ketubah.
In light of the loss of the ketubah, the court should not have considered the amount stipulated in it – which is usually one of the most common sources of dispute in divorce disputes – but in light of the very high sum of NIS 18 million stated in the ketubah, a reference was added that it was an excessive amount.
After the rabbi who conducted the couple's kiddushi testified that he instructed all owners not to take seriously the amount written because the ketubah is not collected and refers only to good luck, Dayan Gleb remarked that "this really should be protested, since the ketubah deed is binding for all intents and purposes. At the same time, there is no doubt that all the Kiddushin orders should be instructed not to allow the husband to write an excessive sum in the ketubah under any circumstances - not even for the sake of luck."
The court accepted the woman's claim for divorce while rejecting her demand for payment of the ketubah in the amount of NIS 18 million.
Right: Adv. Daniel Frydenberg, Adv. Ohad Hoffman/Yael Cohen
Attorneys Daniel Frydenberg and Ohad Hoffman of Hoffman & Frydenberg, who specialize in family and inheritance matters, explain that the importance of the ruling is actually marginal. On the main issue of deciding the guilt of divorce, the court conducts an in-depth analysis in order to enable the husband to grant a divorce to the wife, so that her claim will be accepted and she can embark on her new path. The analysis led to the fact that the woman was actually responsible for the dissolution of the family unit, and therefore she was not entitled to collect her ketubah fees.
However, the court was not satisfied with this finding and added an important note that should resonate: a ketubah is not just a paper written for honor; This is a binding legal document, and the Kiddushin orders must make sure to specify in it sums of money that are not excessive.
In any case, it is important to clarify that even an amount that is not excessive completely loses its value when family life gives way to mystical channeling and experiences of conjugal relationships with demons.
- More on the subject:
- Demons
- Divorce
- Rabbinical Court
- ketubah