Hello, we continue our study in the book Brit Shalom, and we are in chapter six, which deals with matters of love and family.
But it does not always work. Sometimes a couple does not succeed. The Torah provides a solution for what happens when a couple is unable to maintain a family in love and respect.
So we have divorce. There is a possibility to sever the relationship. And unlike, for example, the view common in Christianity—that the marital bond cannot be dissolved except in rare cases—the Torah allows for divorce.
How does one divorce?
Among the people of Israel, the process requires a very complex and detailed procedure. A get (bill of divorce) must be written, and it must be done through a rabbinical court. In contrast, among the Sons of Noah, in principle, as soon as one of the two sides—or both—agrees to divorce, a person simply releases his wife, or the wife releases her husband, verbally. And this is indeed the practice among Muslims.
Nevertheless, it is very appropriate that such dissolutions should not be done arbitrarily but in an organized manner. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that a written document be prepared jointly by the couple and deposited in the community registry, if such a Noahide community exists.
I read here inside:
If, Heaven forbid, a beautiful relationship did not succeed, it is possible to sever it through the decision of one of them to separate.
In Judaism, it is not exactly like this: among Jews only the man can initiate divorce—the woman cannot divorce the man. But among the descendants of Noah, both can.
It is advisable to arrange the separation of the man and woman formally before one of the community’s representatives, so that it be recorded, because being married or divorced has public and communal implications.
Their decision to separate will be recorded in a joint document, and the husband will say in the presence of witnesses:
“Behold, you are divorced and permitted to any man.”
Or the woman will say:
“Behold, I am leaving your authority and am permitted to any man.”
The Torah provides a solution for what happens when a couple is unable to maintain a family in love and respect.
