Some Legal Difficulties which Beset the Jewess. (2 items, 2 copies of each.)
[Judaica]. Hands, L. Some Legal Difficulties which beset the Jewess. Printed for private circulation. (Kilburn, N.W: Hart & Sons, Ltd.), [1920].
8vo.; light blue wrappers, stapled; interior fresh and bright.
Together with:
4to. typed essay; 2 pp.; inserted as an addenda.
First edition, second printing (the first was printed in 1917 by Burt) of a 16-page pamphlet prepared for the International Conference of Women Zionists, held in July of 1920. In the document, Hands outlines some of the legislative obstacles that Jewish women face, due to “repressive legislation” carried over from Eastern Europe and the restrictions dictated by traditional Jewish and Rabbinic law. After examining the social conditions of Jewish women around the world, Hands cites inadequate education and arranged marriages at a very young age as two of the primary factors contributing to the current state of affairs. Legally, Jewish married women are at a disadvantage because they do not have the power to obtain divorces and Sephardic Jews have the right to practice polygamy, except in cases where civil law forbids it. Childless widows cannot remarry until the brother of their deceased husband grants his permission, and Hands cites some cases where brothers extorted money from the widow before allowing her to remarry. Ultimately, Hands concludes that until a central Rabbinic authority is established, these injustices may continue, but she hopes, with the recent resettlement of Jews in Palestine, that such a Rabbinic Conference may be created to address these issues and protect Jewish women’s legal rights.
The accompanying paper, also penned by Hands, addresses some practical problems that might hinder reform, such as opposition from “the rigid orthodoxy” and contains a report from the Rabbinical Conference held in Jerusalem in February, 1921. Hands notes that the “pamphlet touches only upon certain difficulties which arise in connection with the laws of marriage and divorce; but it will be essential also to consider the woman’s inability to act as witness in a Rabbinical Court, her position in respect to inheritance and other matters.” The last section of the essay proposes a system of divorce by mutual consent, which would require that married couples be in agreement as to the need to dissolve a marriage and hopefully not enter into divorce proceedings lightly.
L. Hands does not look up in the standard sources. OCLC locates two other copies; RLG, only one.
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