Public Denouncement of International Beit Din by Rav Hershel Schachter, Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, Rav Nota Greenblatt, Rav Avrohom Union, and Rav Menachem Mendel Senderovitz
Translation from https://jewishlink.news/advising-against-the-use-of-the-international-beit-din-a-translated-letter-from-rabbi-hershel-schachter-shlita/ To my Honorable Colleagues, Students, and Rabbis in every city, A few months ago, the International Beit Din for Agunot was established. Approximately two months ago, I reviewed a 23-page responsum in Hebrew written by a member of this beit din, on the subject of agency to write a divorce against a husband’s will, that is mistaken from beginning to end. Another four-page English responsum was shown to me, permitting an agunah to remarry due to invalid witnesses, based on the Ritva’s famous view. This is not the right path and not even the right city. The prohibition against adultery is not like the laws of mourning, for which we would say that the law follows the lenient opinion. It is always possible to be lenient based on a tiny doubt. The Sages taught us that wherever there is a Chillul Hashem, we set aside respect for a ...