Please join us on Shabbat SH'LACH JUNE 29 as we welcome DR. RACHEL LEVMORE to our Bayit

Dr. Rachel Levmore, To’enet Rabbanit - Rabbinical Court Advocate, is an expert in Jewish divorce law, specializing in the problem of agunot – “chained women”-- unable to free themselves from their marriage. She is the Director of the Agunot and Get (Jewish writ of divorce)-Refusal Prevention Project, of the International Young Israel Movement in Israel and the Jewish Agency – assisting women and men within the Rabbinical Courts to achieve a divorce within Jewish law. Rachel is one of a team that developed a Prenuptial Agreement for the Prevention of Get-Refusal─ “The Agreement for Mutual Respect" (iyim.org.il/prenup/). As the first (newly legislated) female member of the State of the Israel Commission for the Appointment of Rabbinical Court Judges Dr. Levmore has participated in the appointment of thirty-two Rabbinical Judges: 22 to the Regional Courts and 10 to the high Rabbinic Court of Appeals. An expert on the agunah problem, she is the author of "Spare Your Eyes Tears" on prenuptial agreements, published in Hebrew. Dr. Levmore is a recipient of the prestigious Bonei Zion Prize. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Jewish Law from Bar Ilan University; writes and lectures about halakha (Jewish Law), women in halakha and divorce in Jewish Law, in Israel and around the world.

Shabbat Schedule:

• Shabbat Morning following Mussaf
• Changes in Rabbinic Court Divorce Rulings: Harchakot d'Rabbeinu Tam as Contemporary Sanctions
  From the prevailing negativity towards the implementation of Harchakot D'Rabeinu Tam (communal sanctions) for the past few hundred years a complete turnabout occurred in the Rabbinical Courts after the year 1995 –due surprisingly to a factor external to the halakha.

• Shabbat Lunch (paid/by reservation only): 12:30pm

• Shabbat Talk (free, no RSVP required): 1:30pm

  • The Inner Workings of the Israeli Rabbinical Courts
    The tension between democracy and Jewish Law in the Jewish State. An explanation of the Israeli Dual Court System (founding of the State, parallel institutions, historical reflection).  The Rabbinical Court within the confines of the Halakha (Jewish Law)—Coerced divorce, 4 levels of Rabbinical rulings, touching upon the topic of women as Rabbinical Court Advocates and the impact of the women as RCA’s on the agunah problem. The effect of democracy on the Rabbinic Courts.

• Shiur Between Mincha/Maariv: 8:10pm
• Judging the Judges: Women Appointing Rabbinical Court Judges in Israel
  

  As the sole independent member of the Israeli State Commission for the Appointment of Dayanim, in the newly legislated position reserved for a women Rabbinical Court Advocate, while sitting alongside the Chief Rabbis, Dayanim, ministers and members of Knesset-- Dr. Levmore has a unique perspective as to the functioning of the commission, the methodology of the Rabbinical Courts and the qualifying characteristics of a candidate for the position of a dayan in the State Rabbinical Courts.

Mincha 7:50 PM

Lunch Reservations:

Pre-registration for lunch is required. 
Cost: $80/family; $25/adult (age 15 and up); $17/child (ages 4-14)
No need to sign up for lunch to join the talk.