Lesson # 482 (cont.) Was there a kosher marriage? In the last lesson the same question was asked, was there a valid marriage? If yes, then the lady needs a Get (divorce) to be able to remarry (or the death of her husband). If the answer is no, then she may get remarried without a Get from her first mate. In that case which came before the great Rabbinic sage, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, he found grounds to hold that there was never a marriage and she could get (re)married without a Get. There the marriage had been conducted by a reform "rabbi". They had lived together on and off for several years. In a similar case that came before Rabbi Feinstein, the marriage had been performed in a reform temple. Is there a necessity for a Get before she can get remarried, her mate is still alive and refuses to give her a Get, if required. The lady states that there were no persons present who could be considered in any manner or form of being Torah observant Jews. They resided in a non-Jewish neighborhood for several weeks and she could not state that any Torah observant Jews saw them living together or holding themselves out to be husband and wife. She states that because of his sterility they never consummated the marriage and she had medical certificates to bolster her allegations that she intends to use in her action in the civil courts for an annulment of the marriage. She has offered him large sums of money for a Get which he refuses to grant. Is it necessary for her to obtain a Get for her to be free to remarry? In our case there may have been persons who saw them enter into the reform temple for the purpose of getting married and there may be sufficient witnesses to give effect to the marriage. Or else there were such witnesses who saw them emerge from the reform temple with the understanding that they were indeed married. Rabbi Feinstein held that such witnesses could apply only if there was a marriage ceremony that was in all other aspects correct, then these persons could fulfill the function of witnesses by seeing them go into or emerge from the temple. In our instance there is no valid ceremony since the reform "rabbi" would not know how to perform such a ceremony. There are probably many of the requirement of the marriage ceremony that were not complied with, so that seeing the couple entering or emerging from the temple is not enough to say that all was complied with save for the witnesses being present which could in some circumstances be compensated for by the witnesses who saw them entering or leaving the temple. That they lived together for sometime thereafter, does not rectify the situation in our case since they did not live together for the sake of establishing the marriage but in the mistaken belief that they were already married according to the laws of the Jewish people. In fact all of those present assumed that they were married. Therefore their cohabitation subsequent to their ceremony did not effect kiddushin, marriage. There is in halacha the concept of the notion that under certain circumstances they could be considered as married if such as the rumor circulating about them after having gone through what seemed to be a valid marriage ceremony. In the present case, such a rumor would not reinforce that they were married since such a rumor only is reckoned with if all the laws were complied with, with some exception as when it was not known at the time that one of the witnesses was related to another witness or one of the parties. As to their not having consummated the marriage, the proof that she has from doctors to be given to the secular court to annul their marriage, such proof is valid. Since the doctors would not ruin their reputations by testifying falsely to something that can be proved otherwise. The doctors certificates can be relied upon even if they are not persons who are capable of testifying in a Beit Din because they are not Torah observant. They can be relied upon because it is a simple matter for the husband to bring proof to contradict them if they are testifying falsely. The doctors would be subjecting themselves to penalties for perjury if these affidavits of theirs that are to be used in the civil court to obtain a marriage annulment were false. Rabbi Feinstein examines some of the medical evidence and finds it credible as their conclusions that the marriage was never consummated. For had the marriage been consummated not all of the medical experts would have been fooled to believe it was never consummated. They examined her completely and found that they were correct in that there was no evidence of consummation of the marriage. Furthermore, since they lived in non-Jewish neighborhoods there would not be any competent Jewish witnesses to testify as to their living together as husband and wife to attempt to refute the testimony at hand. Even if there were, we could not be aware if there were such witnesses who would be competent according to Torah law to testify that the couple held themselves out to be husband and wife. Rabbi Feinstein discusses at length the criteria for those present at the ceremony to be able to testify in instances where they would be believed such as competent witnesses testifying as to the competence of the persons who were present at the ceremony. In this instance they would not be any since it was conceded that none of the persons present would be competent to testify according to halacha. This, in spite of the rule that we cannot reject the testimony of non- competent witnesses unless it can be shown in their presence why they are not competent -- in our situation there would not be anyone present who would be competent to so testify. He concludes that since there were no competent witnesses who witnessed the ceremony, she is not married and may go on to marry again without the necessity of a Get. [The Parshat Balak Homepage]
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