Gittin (Divorce Proceedings)

Gittin is the name for the divorce procedure under Torah law. It is a legal process that involves the delivery of a “get” – a document of divorce in accordance with Jewish law – by a husband to his wife. In the event of a divorce between husband and wife, the process of gittin is critical: Jewish law does not ascribe any halachic status to a civil divorce.

The Get

The get is written by a sofer and signed by two legal witnesses, all under the close supervision of a mesader gittin. The get exclusively declares the severance, and does not mention any reason or fault for the divorce.

Who can administer the divorce process?

The get process must be administered by a Mesader Gittin with sufficient expertise to avoid errors. Divorce, like other Jewish life cycle processes, involves a great deal of detailed halachah. For the divorce process to be complete, adherence to and application of relevant halachos requires precision. Failure to administer the process properly can have irreversible consequences not only upon the separating spouses and their ability to remarry, but also upon the status future generations of children. These and many other problems can be avoided through adherence to the proper get procedure.

For this reason, administration of the Jewish divorce process is relegated to experts in the relevant halachos.

For the state of Michigan, the Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit has exclusively delegated this task to Rabbi Yisrael M. Levin. Rabbi Levin is the only Mesader Gittin authorized by the Council for the State of Michigan. Please note that a get arranged by Rabbi Levin will be accepted by a Beis Din anywhere in the world, including by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

A letter containing details of Rabbi Levin’s authorization can be found below, at the end of this page.

Who should contact Rabbi Levin for administering a get?

Any Jewish couple that is undergoing a divorce should contact Rabbi Levin, regardless of whether they are religious or of whether they consider themselves members of the Orthodox Jewish community. Again, a get administered by Rabbi Levin is accepted by any Jewish court in the world, including the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.