An Orthodox rabbinic group is requiring prenuptial agreements in the weddings it facilitates.
According to a resolution passed by the International Rabbinic Fellowship, rabbis may not officiate at or participate ritually in a wedding ceremony in which the man and woman have not signed a halachic prenuptial stating that if the marriage dissolves, they will agree to a Jewish divorce.
That means the husband must give his wife a get, a Jewish divorce decree, and the woman must accept it.
The resolution is an effort to prevent future agunot, or “chained women,” whose husbands have refused to give them a get, said the rabbinical group’s president, Rabbi Joel Tessler. Agunot may not remarry in a Jewish ceremony.
“We’re the only rabbinic organization that demands from all of its members that they can only officiate in a wedding if the couple has agreed and signed a prenup before the wedding,” said Tessler.
The rabbinical group represents 150 Modern Orthodox rabbis. — jta