Agreement for Mutual Respect
(Prenuptial Agreement)
The Agreement for Mutual Respect
הסכם לכבוד הדדי - קדם נישואין
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Instructions for Signing
In order to be legally valid, the Agreement must be signed prior to the wedding before a notary or the marriage registrar in the Religious Council's office or the Regional Rabbinic Court or the Family Court.
Three copies should be made at the time of signing: The marrying couple should each receive one copy; the authorizing body should receive the third copy.
Please note for your information that the composers of the prenuptial agreement cannot take upon themselves legal or halachic (Jewish legal) responsibility for the phrasing and text of the agreement or for its validity. Rabbinic and Halachic authority and/or legal authority (an attorney), of your choosing, should be consulted in order to obtain appropriate counsel and advice.
The Agreement for Mutual Respect - Including an Additional International Clause
- **The Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel (now IYIM – Israel Region), in cooperation with Rabbi Yonah Reiss and Rabbi Prof. Michael Broyde – both of the Beth Din of America –translated the "Agreement for Mutual Respect", developed for use in Israel, into English.
- An additional clause has been included which assigns jurisdiction to the Beth Din of America [as an arbitrator] should either of the parties not reside in the State of Israel, or should the agreement not be deemed enforceable in the jurisdiction that the parties reside.
- The agreement, including this clause, has been translated into Russian, French and Spanish. All are presented here, as well as a Hebrew version including the additional clause.
Preparation for Signing the International Version
In the English version note clause "R" (English version can be accessed by clicking on the American Flag at the top of this page)
In the International Hebrew version note clause 18 (י"ח)
For couples residing in Israel it is recommended to use the Hebrew version.
**This clause is drawn up to assign legal jurisdiction to the Beth Din of America as arbiter if the agreement cannot be put into effect in Israel. It was added in cooperation with the dayanim of the Beth Din of America.**
- Print out 3 copies of the agreement
- Print out three copies of the "Standard Version" of the Beth Din of America's Binding Arbitration Agreement at http://www.theprenup.org/prenupforms.html
Label each copy on top, in handwriting, "Appendix B of the Agreement for Mutual Respect Signed on the date of ____________"
** Draw a line through the entire Clause "Financial and Custody Issues", in effect crossing it out.
- Make three sets - each set to include a) the Heskem L'Kavod Hadadi on top and b) the Beth Din of America's Binding Arbitration Agreement on the bottom.
- Notarize - sign all three sets at any notary. There will be a standard notary fee.
Please note for your information that the composers of the prenuptial agreement cannot take upon themselves legal or halachic (Jewish legal) responsibility for the phrasing and text of the agreement or for its validity. Rabbinic and Halachic authority and/or legal authority (an attorney), of your choosing, should be consulted in order to obtain appropriate counsel and advice.
Individual Use Only
All downloads, including forms, texts and articles, are for individual and personal use only. Organizations, educational institutions and businesses wishing to utilize and/or distribute any materials need to contact IYIM - Israel Region for written permission: office@iyim.org.il
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The History
The Agreement for Mutual Respect is a pre-nuptial agreement for the prevention of get-refusal*. The Agreement anchors modern day's philosophy of partnership and mutual respect in the context of Jewish law, and is being signed and ratified in Israel today.
The signing of prenuptial agreements for the prevention of Get-Refusal has been recommended by the many Rabbinic authorities. It is included in the Resolutions of the Rabbinical Council of America which were adopted in June 1993, entitled "In the Matter of Prenuptial Agreements.”
A year later, in 1994, "The Endorsement of Prenuptial Agreements" was reaffirmed.
Furthermore, the leading Roshei Yeshiva of Yeshiva University issued "A Message to Our Rabbinic Colleagues and Students" in 1999, strongly urging:
"[R]abbis to counsel and encourage marrying couples to sign such an agreement. The increased utilization of pre-nuptial agreements is a critical step in purging our community of the distressful problem of the modern-day Aguna and enabling men and women to remarry without restriction."
In May 2006, the Rabbinical Council of America once again reaffirmed its previous resolutions, declaring "that no rabbi should officiate at a wedding where a proper prenuptial agreement on get has not been executed".
*Dr. Levmore’s extensive research on the subject of Prenuptial Agreements for the Prevention of Get-Refusal has been documented in her Master's thesis in the Talmud Department of Bar-Ilan University.
The increased utilization of pre-nuptial agreements is a critical step in purging our community of the distressful problem of the modern-day Aguna and enabling men and women to remarry without restriction.