Get refuser Anthony Sherman put in cherem by the Beth Din

BRIAN JOSSELOWITZ

Sherman was put in cherem this past weekend by the Beth Din which excludes him from Jewish communal events as a way to pressurise him into granting his ex-wife a Jewish divorce. But despite the Beth Din’s efforts over the past four years he has remained obdurate.

A statement issued by the Orthodox Union of Synagogues on the Sherman case said that the sanctions imposed on the recalcitrant former husband include: that, he may not enter a shul, not receive an aliyah, not be included in a minyan or a mezuman and he may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

Rosh Beth Din Rabbi Moshe Kurtstag previously said when he told Sherman that he could be put in cherem, it did not seem to bother him.

“Sherman had an extramarital affair which culminated in a divorce and since then he has not paid maintenance to his first family and is being sued for not paying maintenance,” Go-Getters and W4W said.

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein said last week Thursday, when he made clear that the Beth Din intended to place Sherman in cherem: “The halacha mandates us to do everything in our power to defend the rights of women and especially in a situation like this, where a husband maliciously withholds a get. Therefore, the Beth Din treats these situations with extreme seriousness…There is also very good South African legislation and so we have had hardly any agunah cases in South Africa.

“We must all support these sanctions against him because in so doing we support the strong moral stance of the halacha to fight on behalf of his ex-wife, whose rights are being violated by her recalcitrant husband.

“His behaviour is immoral and we, as a community, have the duty to take a strong stand against such conduct,” the Chief Rabbi said.

“The issue of men refusing to grant their former wives gittin is an old and tragic one,” says Rabbi Malcolm Matitiani of Temple Israel in Green Point. “While some Progressive rabbis issue a teudat hafreida – a certificate of separation – to annul the ketubah, all will marry a divorcee on presentation of a civil divorce decree. While it works for us, we recognise that it does not conform with Orthodox halacha.”

In their statement, Go-Getters and W4W said the giving of a get should be a simple process once the marriage has broken down.

“Before staring the Go-Getters campaign many people urged Anthony and Christie to do the morally correct thing by giving the get, but we couldn’t convince him. Sherman’s first wife who has been trying to protect their children, now supports the Beth Din’s decision to institute cherem. But she remains an agunah and by excommunicating Sherman, the rabbinate are sending a clear message that this type of behaviour is unacceptable in Jewish law.”

The social media campaign started by Go-Getters with W4W and UJW Cape Town highlighted that there are other women in this position.

“The Sherman case should serve as a strong warning to other South African get refusers, who are known to us and we will expose them, if necessary. It is intolerable to have men abuse halacha by withholding the get as a form of punishment.

“If we are asked to help either the spouse or the Beth Din, we will embark on appropriate campaigns. Some men attempt to intimidate their wives and children, but we and our legal team will pursue them to prevent this abuse. All we want is justice,” W4W and Go-Getters said.

Since news of the cherem decision was placed on the SA Get Network Facebook page on Monday, 24 655 people have seen it. “It has been shared 168 times, we had 134 comments, 247 people engaged the post and four South African agunot contacted us,” Go-Getters said.