Ensuring the Power of the Beth Din: Creation of the Halakhic Prenuptial Agreement

Abstract

One purported solution to the agunah problem is the halakhic prenuptial agreement. This paper examines the process that created the halakhic prenup through focusing on the Conservative movement’s adoption of the Lieberman Clause, the Koeppel v. Koeppel case, and the growing Orthodox feminist movement. In examining the cultural forces that led to the creation of the halakhic prenup, it becomes clear that the Orthodox Rabbinate designed the halakhic prenup to secure the power of the Orthodox Beth Din. The halakhic prenup was created as a direct result of increasing numbers of Jewish women turning to secular courts for a solution to the agunah problem