What is a get?
A "get" is a writ of divorce. According to Jewish tradition, the get is given by the man to the woman, not in reverse. In addition, Judaism does not recognize no-fault divorce. The man has to have a reason and a will to give a get.

What is the difference between an agunah and a mesorevet get?
A mesorevet get is a woman whose husband refuses to divorce her by giving her a get according to Jewish law. An agunah is a woman whose husband has disappeared without divorcing her.

What are the consequences of being a mesorevet get?
A mesorevet get is neither married nor divorced, and exists in a state of physical, psychological and emotional limbo. She cannot remarry. Children she has later on with another man are considered bastards (mamzerim) and outcast from Jewish society. She is not granted entitlements of single parents, such as rental subsidies and childcare assistance. She is compelled to spend thousands of dollars on legal fees and forms of extortion in pursuit of her freedom.

Why is this specifically a woman’s problem?
There are several compelling factors that make this a problem predominantly affecting women. Aside from the fact that lawyers researching this issue in the field report that for every man in an unwanted marriage, there are hundreds of women in stuck in unwanted marriages, there are also some very real issues that apply only to women:

· Men have options. For men there is an acceptable outlet for recalcitrance under Jewish law. A man who wishes to take a second wife may go to another country and simply remarry. He may also, according to Jewish law, get the signatures of 100 rabbis on a document thereby freeing him. This has been done dozens of times in Israel. All over Israel there are men living completely normal "married" lives while their "first" wives are still stuck married to them. The situation can never exist in reverse.

· Mamzerut. A woman who rejects the system and cohabits with another man forfeits her child’s membership in the Jewish community – the children are considered bastards (mamzerim) according to Jewish law. No such consequence exists for a man.

· The biological clock. A woman who waits for a get races against her biological clock, preventing her from ever having a normal family life with her own children. For a man, the clock does not tick the same way, and so waiting does not have these tragic consequences. Women's lives and futures pass by them while they are stuck chained in unwanted marriages.


How is the problem unique in Israel?
· All divorces, all issues. According to the Judicial Law of the Rabbinical Law Court passed in 1953, divorce between a Jewish couple who married in Israel is subject to the sole authority of the Rabbinical Law Court (Beit Din). Also, many couples have their entire settlements being debated in the Beit Din, and as such all forms of support are then linked to the get.

· Law of division of property. Although couples may go to the Civil Law courts to rule on the other issues, no agreement is applicable (except for certain support payment) until after the get is given. This enables men to use the get as a means of extorting the wife on divorce settlement issues – including custody, child support, and division of property.

· Discrimination in the religious courts. According to research done by the National Insurance Institute, the sums agreed upon for support payments in the Beit Din are lower on average than those granted in Regional Law Courts.

· Lack of state recognition of the agunah status. The concept of being an agunah does not exist in the governmental bureaucracy. She therefore has no assistance in the form of rental assistance and child care.

· Lack of rabbinic recognition of spousal abuse as immediate grounds for divorce. The chief rabbis admitted in a June, 1998 meeting with ICAR, that they have no specific approach to couples with a history of domestic violence. Women are routinely sent to do “shalom bayit” with violent and abusive spouses, despite the lack of legal, halachic, and ethical support for this decision. Israel is, arguably, the only Westernized country not to approach domestic violence as a basic grounds for divorce.

How many mesoravot get are there?
There are thousands of women estimated to be in this situation, although it is difficult to obtain precise figures for lack of accurate record keeping in the rabbinical courts. 
 
What is the connection between recalcitrance and spousal abuse?
According to the statistics of Mavoi Satum, confirmed by Rabbi Abraham Twersky, over 97% of mesoravot get have suffered from physical abuse from their husbands. The prototype of the wife abuser matches the prototype of the “sarvan” – i.e., the recalcitrant man. In essence, the refusal of a man to grant his wife a divorce is a state-sanctioned and rabbinically-sanctioned form of spousal abuse.

Why is this a concern to the entire community?
As long as our community allows even one woman to remain an agunah, we all hold responsibility for her suffering. The injustice and inhumanity are a mark of shame on our society.