Divorce has existed since humans began forming pair bonds and raising children together. Among hunter-gatherer tribes divorce was probably informal compared with modern practices, but we have no solid evidence about how they terminated long-term sexual relationships. Divorce among farming and ranching communities was more formal, but the rules and rituals of divorce, the grounds justifying dissolution, and the ease of getting a divorce have varied enormously throughout history. Divorce in … [Read more...]
Getting A “Get” – The Problem of Jewish Divorce
Religious Jews who wish to divorce can have a problem: a civil divorce alone does not release them to remarry. Pious Jews need a release by a properly constituted religious body before they are free to enter into another martial relationship. It has been the conventional wisdom in the past that this is a matter of no concern to the civil courts; that the doctrine of church-state separation forbids intervention in areas that are essentially of a religious nature. This is not necessarily the … [Read more...]
