A broadslide recording an American Agun, New York, 1925

 Tucked in an early American Responsa Sefer I acquired recently, was a one page printed document from 1925 that tells a fascinating tale. While stories of Agunot are unfortunately not unheard of, and a vast literature surrounding the subject exists, tales of Agunim, males who are chained to a marriage are seldom discussed or heard of in Rabbinic Literature.

This document was a Psak Din from a Bet Din in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, under the leadership of R. Moses Benjamin Tomashoff (d. 1960). Originally from Slutzk, Tomashoff later arrived in Brownsville (then nicknamed the Jerusalem of America), was an active member of the Agudath Harabonim and editor of the Rabbinic Journal Yagdil Torah.

The case they were discussing was in regards to a certain woman who was declared insane 13 years prior and was under the care of Central Islip Psychiatric Center, of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the New York area, which reached a peak of 10,000 patients in 1955 before it finally closed its doors in 1996. Being that she was not capable of receiving a get due to her medical state, her husband was left alone, with their children, unable to marry and struggling to support and care for the children. Interestingly, the Bet Din notes that he had no daughters, only boys, which would make it much harder for him to take care of the children, as there were no daughters to assist.

The Bet Din found a halakhic basis to allow him to remarry, on condition that an addition 97 rabbis sign to agree to this opinion of theirs, and that the husband commits to pay and care for his first wife's medical needs perpetually. The Bet Din mentions in their stipulation that they confirmed and conferred the options with a lawyer to arrange for the first wife's needs, and that in addition, he was required to first obtain a legal civil divorce before marrying a second wife. Presumably, this document was sent to additional rabbis that would then sign and agree to the psak, and once he obtained 100 signatures it was thus allow him to marry.