Women's Rights

The language of Jewish marriage law is revealing. The Mishnah in Kiddushin 1:1 opens with: "A woman is acquired in three ways" (האשה נקנית בשלש דרכים). The word "acquired" (נקנית) is the same word used for purchasing property.

A woman is "acquired" through: 1. Money (kesef) - historically, the man gives the woman something of value 2. Document (shtar) - a written contract 3. Intercourse (bi'ah) - sexual relations with intent to marry

While apologists argue this is just legal terminology, the framework reveals the underlying worldview: marriage is a transaction in which a man acquires a woman.

In the ketubah (marriage contract), the husband obligates himself to provide food, clothing, and conjugal relations. But the woman's obligations? She owes her husband her domestic labor, and the income from her work belongs to him (Ketubot 47b).

A woman's testimony is not accepted in Jewish court (Beit Din). Shevuot 30a establishes that women are generally disqualified as witnesses, alongside children, slaves, and the mentally incompetent.

The Rambam (Hilchos Edut 9:2) codifies women's disqualification from testimony as a Torah-level prohibition. The implications ripple through every area of Jewish legal life.

Perhaps the cruelest manifestation of gender inequality in Orthodox Judaism is the Get (Jewish divorce document). Only a man can give a Get. A woman cannot divorce her husband—she can only receive a divorce from him.

This creates the phenomenon of the Agunah (עגונה - "chained woman")—a woman whose husband refuses to grant a Get. She cannot remarry under Jewish law. She is trapped.

While some modern Orthodox authorities have tried to address this through prenuptial agreements, the fundamental power imbalance remains: the man holds the key, and the woman waits.

Organizations like ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot) fight to help chained women, but the systemic problem persists.