Jerusalem judges travel to hospital to arrange divorce for blind couple

The complexity of the situation was due to the hatband having had a severe stroke six years earlier.

THE RABBINICAL court of Tel Aviv. It has been said that rabbinical courts allow men to hold back consent to divorce their wives in order to extort the women into agreeing to unfair overall terms. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
THE RABBINICAL court of Tel Aviv. It has been said that rabbinical courts allow men to hold back consent to divorce their wives in order to extort the women into agreeing to unfair overall terms.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Three judges from Jerusalem that deal with marriages and divorce traveled to the north of Israel on Wednesday in order to conduct divorce proceedings for a blind couple.
The complexity of the situation was due to the hatband having had a severe stroke, lacking cognitive fitness to produce and provide a divorce for his wife, who is also blind.
The husband initially suffered a severe stroke six years ago, when his cognitive and physical condition began to deteriorate rapidly, forcing him to remain hospitalized at a facility in northern Israel. Due to his condition, he was unable to attend court proceedings. 
The three judges that visited the north, Rabbi Uriel Lavie, Rabbi David Lebanon and Rabbi Mordechai Mizrahi Bar-Or, did so in coordination with the husband's guardian. The rabbis were forced to travel to the north also in order to a provide a Jewish religious divorce, which is done with the husband's decision. 
Despite the complexity of the issue, in relation to Jewish law, the judges were able to arrange the divorce religiously and legally, following conversations with the husband's medical staff. 
Director of the rabbinical courts, Rabbi David Malka, remarked on the judges determination and willingness to travel, saying "the system of rabbinical courts will continue and persevere in tireless efforts to free every woman from the shackles of being an agunah (chained woman)."