The Gett of Cleves

The older story of the Gett of Cleves does not help us understand most contemporary cases but has some insight. It deals with a couple where the husband gave a Get two weeks after they got married.

In the German-speaking world, in 1766, a Jewish couple (Isaac and Leah) were married. Isaac appeared normal before getting married, but certain issues came up soon after they were married. Rabbi Shimon Copenhagen told Isaac that his life was in danger and that he should leave the town. It is likely that he was being threatened by some of her family members…

Since there was no Beis Din in the town they were living in, and because he was trying to flee to England, he gave a Get in Cleves – a town near the border of Germany and The Netherlands. A Get was made by Rabbi Yisrael Lipshutz – a rav who did not know the full extent of the behavior of the husband.

Some rabbis claimed that Isaac was mentally insane, and thus, the Gett would be considered pasul since he would have to be in a mentally sane state when giving the Gett. Various rabbis tried to figure out if this was the case since some thought he was mentally insane.

The controversy grew when the Beis Din of Frankfurt decided that the Get was indeed pasul. The Beis Din was at odds because other rabbis in Germany, including the most prominent Rabbis in Germany including Rabbi Yaakov Emdem and Rabbi Aryeh Leib (Shaagas Aryeh) claimed that the Get was actually valid.

Outside of Germany, Rabbi Yehezkel Landau of Prague, decades before publishing his most cited works, claimed that it was valid. He did believe that the Beis Din of Frankfurt was acting in good faith but believed that they had made a mistake in their ruling. A year later, the Beis Din of Frankfurt still believed that their own ruling was correct, so R” Landau made a public proclamation in Prague saying that it was indeed valid. He then got many rabbanim to publicize his speech to the leaders of many other communities.

The community in Frankfurt burned the copies of the speech and rejected R” Landau. The rabbis of Prague issue a proclamation that anyone R” Landau and his family members can not give speeches in the shuls of Frankfurt.

The story ends in a more unusual way. The same couple allegedly decide to remarry. Thus, ending the conflict altogether…This particular remarriage did not include every aspect of the ceremony but had the basics. The story is a specific example of how strange things can happen to normal people and how mental insanity, plus the accusation of insanity, affects Halakhah.