Widowed by war, trapped by law

Since the beginning of Israel’s current war, several newly married women have undergone a religious ritual known as halitzah. According to statistics from Israel’s rabbinic courts, the number of women performing halitzah has doubled, or even tripled, in comparison to non-wartime occurrences.
What is halitzah?
When a woman becomes widowed from a man who does not have children, the Torah explicitly mandates, in Deuteronomy, that the brother of the deceased husband must perform yibum — levirate marriage — and take the widow as a wife. If the brother refuses, the Torah instructs that the halitzah ceremony be performed, in which the widow removes a sandal from the brother’s foot, spits before him (on the ground), and rebukes him for refusing to take her as his wife.
Until yibum or halitzah occurs, the widow is prohibited from marrying anyone else and is considered “bound by yibum” or “bound by halitzah.” In other words, from the moment of her husband’s death, a bond is created between the widow and her brother-in-law that must be dissolved in order for her to marry another man (it is important to note that children born to another man, even without halitzah, are not considered mamzerim — illegitimate). After undergoing halitzah, the widow’s status is like that of a divorcée, prohibiting her from marrying a kohen.
In ancient times, the brother’s obligation to perform yibum and take in his late brother’s widow might have benefitted women, as in the case of Ruth and Boaz in the Book of Ruth. Today, yibum is not done in practice and, in 1950, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel determined that halitzah should be performed exclusively.
Far from being just a formal ritual, halitzah has severe implications for the widow’s life.
Vulnerable to Extortion
The widow’s dependence on her brother-in-law for her freedom makes her vulnerable to extortion. A recent case in Issue 67 of HaDin VeHaDayan, published by the Rackman Center at Bar Ilan University, illustrates this.
In the reported case, in 2023, shortly after the couple married, the husband died from illness. The husband had had a longstanding conflict with his father, who then sought revenge on his son’s widow. The father forbade the younger brother, a dependent in his household, from performing the halitzah ceremony, even threatening to evict him if he cooperated. After months of negotiations, the widow agreed to forgo her legally entitled inheritance in exchange for the halitzah ceremony to be performed. Even this did not satisfy her father-in-law, who continued to refuse. Only after financial sanctions of NIS 1,000 (some $280) per day and the threat of imprisonment was the matter resolved, and the younger brother was allowed by his father to perform the halitzah ceremony.
Trapped as an Agunah
Some situations are more dire. If the brother is a minor, one must wait until he turns 13 to perform halitzah. If the brother cannot be found, he must be located. In more severe cases, if the brother falls into a halachic category of people who cannot perform the halitzah ceremony, such as those who are mentally incompetent or deaf, the woman becomes a permanent agunah (chained to the marriage) and cannot remarry for the rest of her life.
Solution
While the current war has highlighted the need to address problems that arise from halitzah, there is longstanding precedent for halachic solutions. The Center for Women’s Justice is currently promoting one such solution, based on historic halachic prenuptial agreements. Before the marriage, the groom signs a declaration stating that the marriage is valid on condition that, if the wife needs halitzah (that is, if the husband dies without offspring while the wife is still living and he has a brother), and the halitzah ceremony does not take place within six months of the husband’s death, and if the women petitions a rabbinic court to enact this halachic document, then the marriage will be considered null in its entirety. Thus, there would be no need to undergo halitzah and the woman would be free to marry.
We encourage all engaged couples to sign this important halachic declaration, which can be signed in addition to all other halachic prenuptial agreements.
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Learn more about halitzah and these halachic solutions by listening to parts 1 and 2 of the halitzah episodes of the CWJ podcast, Justice Unbound: Women, Religion and the State of Israel, hosted by Susan Weiss and Rivkah Lubitch.
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Adapted by Rachel Stomel from the original Hebrew article in Makor Rishon.