Case of Sam Rosenbloom

Accused of Domestic Violence

Baltimore, MD

Note forward to The Awareness Center from Rabbi Mark Dratch:

Sam Rosenbloom is owner of the succhah.com.  He has refused to give his wife a get (a Jewish divorce decree). He also is non-complaint with the Beit-din (Jewish court panel). Until he gives a get, his wife cannot remarry. Please do not buy from his website. Let him know that this is unacceptable behavior.

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Table of Contents:  

1. The Baltimore Bais Din  (06/17/2004)

2. 'Unchain your wife' Gaithersburg protesters urge man to give wife religious divorce (08/24/2004)

3. Getora (08/24/2004)

4. OU Strongly Recommends Not Buying from Site  (08/28/2004)

Also see:  

1. Domestic Violence in Jewish Communities

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June 17, 2004

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by Sharon Samber, Special to WJW

Washington Jewish Week - August 26, 2004

http://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/localstory.php?/wjw2/289161039270411.bsp

Instead of lazily enjoying a clear and sunny day, a group of Jews stood outside a man's house last Sunday, shouting at him to divorce his wife.

About 40 people gathered on a quiet Gaithersburg street, chanting slogans and holding signs intended to shame Sam Rosenbloom into giving his wife a get, a Jewish bill of divorce.

The Rosenblooms received a civil divorce five years ago, after 13 years of marriage. According to Jewish law, when a couple gets divorced, the man is to present the woman with a get. Without one, a woman is forbidden to remarry and is therefore called an agunah, literally a chained or an anchored woman.

"Sam Rosenbloom, unchain your wife!" the group clamored.

Jewish communities have long tried to deal with the problem of agunot. In talmudic days, the Jewish courts used their authority to beat men until they agreed to give a get. Some communities excommunicated husbands who would not grant a divorce.

Times have changed, but the Orthodox movement is still struggling with the issue of agunot, trying to find a way to prevent the problem without changing Jewish law.

Reaching across geographic lines, last Sunday's protest was partly organized by the New York-based Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) and supported by the Washington-area Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA).

Many of the protesters came from Baltimore, where Sarah Rosenbloom lives.

ORA works with Jewish courts, rabbis, attorneys, psychologists and social workers to resolve current agunah cases and eliminate future problems.

JCADA president Barbara Zackheim said although only a few agunot have called her organization, their problem is serious. "It's the last vestige of abuse that a husband can perpetrate on his wife," she said. "It"s incumbent on the Jewish community to help."

This was the third protest to support Sarah Rosenbloom, and there may be more to come.

It was unclear whether Sam Rosenbloom was home at the time of the protest. Rosenbloom is currently in contempt of the Baltimore Bais Din because he has refused to appear before that Jewish court and grant his wife a get.

Rosenbloom could not be reached for comment.

Since Jewish law states that a man must give a get of his own free will, the protesters found themselves needing to be both aggressive and deferential.

"We do the best we can," said Etta Vogel, one of the women who came in from Baltimore.

Positive thinking is essential, agreed her friend Molly Griner. "We never give up," she added.

Griner was an agunah for 36 years until her "ex" husband died. She empathized with Sarah Rosenbloom and her four children. "It hurts a lot," Griner said.

Bruce Luchansky of Baltimore, the protest's unofficial leader, said other creative ideas such as public advertising or an e-mail campaign might be employed in the future.

A few people suggested picketing Rosenbloom's business, and Luchansky stressed the importance of remaining lawful.

The protests are lawful but still grating on the nerves of the neighbors. One neighbor, who declined to give his name, drowned out the sounds of "Unchain Your Wife" and "Free Your Wife, Free Your Soul" with his car radio. He said he didn't understand what the problem was since the couple had been divorced for years.

Derrick Cheung, who lives across the street, said it was hard for him to fully understand the situation since he isn't Jewish, but he could see both sides of the argument.

In an interview Sunday night, Sarah Rosenbloom said that she was extremely grateful to all the people who went to support her. She had turned to ORA for help after her husband had physically abused her.

Although she has done all she can through the beit din, she said her husband told her once he would "never, ever" divorce her.

"It shocks me I'm in this situation," she said.

Rosenbloom is hopeful that prenuptial agreements in which the husband and wife agree to refer their marital dispute to an arbitration panel for a decision, as well as changes in civil law, will help prevent other women from becoming agunot.

A New York law (commonly referred to as the "get law") requires anyone who had a religious marriage ceremony and petitions for a civil divorce to demonstrate to the court that there is no impediment to remarriage. A similar bill was proposed in the Maryland legislature in 1999 and in 2000, but failed.

Rosenbloom is unhappy that Jewish leaders did not galvanize around the issue.

"The Jewish community is so darn passive, it's afraid of rocking the boat," she said. "Rabbis and community leaders have to realize it's a horrible situation."

Orthodox rabbis are hoping prenuptial agreements and community pressure will eventually be enough to eradicate the issue of agunot.

Rabbi Elly Krimsky, the assistant rabbi at Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah in Potomac, talked about the Rosenbloom case in his sermon last Saturday.

Krimsky, who joined Sunday's protest, said he would not officiate at a wedding without a prenuptial agreement. But when it comes to community pressure, there is a fine line between forcing and influencing, he said.

"We're struggling," he said. "We"re looking for ways to help."

The use of prenuptial agreements is becoming more and more prevalent, according to Rabbi Yona Reiss, a lawyer and the director of the Beth Din of America, an Orthodox rabbinical court.

The Conservative movement encourages prenuptial agreements and also accepts a change to the ketubah (Jewish wedding document) that is an attempt to guarantee that both parties will come before a beit din and live by that court's decision.

The clause states either the husband or the wife can summon the other party to appear before a beit din to discuss the marital conflicts, and accept that there may be civil penalties if they refuse. Referred to as the "Lieberman clause," the change is named after the talmudic expert professor Saul Lieberman.

Conservative authorities also are willing to annul a marriage in the case of a recalcitrant husband. Reform and Reconstructionist authorities do not require a get.

Reiss could not answer how many agunot cases the Beth Din of America is involved in, saying only that there were a number of pending cases. "One such case is too many," he said. "And there's more than one case."

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September 25, 2004

The Awareness Center received an email from Rabbi Mark Dratch asking me to circulate the following information:

The owner of the website mentioned below has not given his wife a get (a Jewish divorce Decree). He is non-complaint with the Beit-din (Jewish court panel). Until he gives a get, his wife cannot remarry. Please do not buy from his website. Let him know that this is unacceptable behavior.

Sam Rosenbloom has a seruv issued against him by the Baltimore Beis din. A copy of the seruv can be viewed by going to http://www.getora.com/seiruvim.htm

Mr. Rosenbloom owns and operates an on-line succah business at: http://www.succah.com

We would like everyone to be aware of this information and request that people consult their local rabbi before purchasing anything from www.succah.com

Thank you.

www.getora.com

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OU Strongly Recommends Not Buying from Site.

OU - September 28, 2004

http://www.ou.org/other/5765/seruv.htm

The owner of the website described below, www.succah.com (note: with this exact spelling only!), is in violation of Jewish law, in that he has not given his wife a get, a Jewish divorce decree. He has failed to comply with an order issued by the Baltimore Beit Din (Jewish court). Until he gives his wife a get, she is not permitted to remarry under Jewish law.

Sam Rosenbloom has a seruv issued against him by the Baltimore Beit Din. A copy of the seruv can be viewed at http://www.getora.com/seiruvim.htm.

Mr. Rosenbloom owns and operates an on-line succah business at www.succah.com (note: with this exact spelling only!). We strongly recommend that no Jewish person buy from his website, that no synagogue grant him an aliyah or other religious honor or benefit, and that no Jewish family invite Mr. Rosenbloom into their home or otherwise provide him with Yom Tov or Shabbat hospitality.

If you have a question regarding this announcement, please contact your local Orthodox rabbi for the appropriate guidance. If you do not have an Orthodox rabbi available, you may email info@ou.org for the name of an Orthodox rabbi in your area.

www.ou.org

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Last Updated:  09/29/04

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

--Margaret Mead

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