A Husband Exploded. The Maharsham Had to Decide. Issue #7
Published: Thu, 05/07/26
A SOLDIER'S RAGE AND A WOMAN LEFT BEHIND
One angry sentence from a husband headed to the Tsar's army nearly invalidated his wife's get. Was she free, or was she trapped forever?
A Jewish man in Novi Minsk had been conscripted into the Tsar's army. Five years of service in a distant garrison. The marriage was already broken. If he left without giving a get, his wife would be an agunah, chained indefinitely.
On the day he was scheduled to report for duty, the local Rav pulled off what must have seemed like a miracle. He persuaded the husband to agree to a get, in exchange for money held by a shalish.
The sofer began writing. Then disaster struck.
Several of the wife's relatives walked into the room. The husband's face darkened. He flew into a rage and spat: "Because you brought these people here, I will not divorce you!"
The Rav scrambled. Got the relatives out. Calmed the husband down. The get was completed and delivered.
But was the get still valid? Or had that one angry sentence destroyed it?
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Military conscription in Tsarist Russia was one of the most devastating forces acting on Jewish family life in the 19th century. Even five years in a distant garrison, with unreliable mail and no leave, could destroy a marriage permanently. The pressure on local rabbanim to secure a get before departure was immense, because everyone understood that once the husband left, the chances of obtaining one dropped to nearly zero.
This case captures the chaos of those final hours before departure: the frantic negotiations, the money changing hands, the sofer racing to write, and then the human explosion that nearly ruined everything.
Coming next week:
A community splits apart over a pile of crumbs.
Who owns what belongs to no one?
WHO WAS THE MAHARSHAM?
Rabbi Shalom Mordechai HaKohen Schwadron (1835–1911) served as the Rav of Brezhan in Galicia for over 40 years. He is best known for his seven-volume Shut Maharsham, containing thousands of teshuvos on every area of halachah, and his Da’as Torah commentary on Shulchan Aruch. Regarded as one of the foremost poskim of his generation, his rulings are cited in halachic works to this day.
The Maharsham Project • www.kechnia.org/maharsham
L’illui nishmas R’ Shalom Mordechai HaKohen Schwadron zt”l • [email protected]