The Organization for the Resolution of Agunot

Founded by a group of Yeshiva University students, the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot empowers women who are denied a Jewish divorce (get in Hebrew) to obtain one unconditionally and in a timely fashion. According to traditional Jewish law, a husband must give his wife a get in order to finalize their religious divorce so that she can move on with her life. When a husband refuses, it can lead to an abusive cycle, keeping a woman trapped in a difficult situation. ORA resolves current cases of get refusal by way of advocacy and prevents future cases by promoting the universal adoption of the halachic (“following Jewish law”) prenuptial agreement. Since its founding in 2002, ORA has succeeded in assisting more than 230 women attain their long-sought freedom. 

ORA has grown into an international nonprofit recognized as one of the most prominent voices in agunah advocacy. (An agunah is a woman whose husband refuses to issue her a get.) Providing comprehensive assistance to Orthodox women in the midst of contentious divorces, it offers legal aid, counseling, shelter, safety planning and  financial assistance. Whether navigating the court systems
or applying social, financial and communal pressure on the resistant husband, ORA works with each woman to develop a plan for resolution. ORA also runs an Agunah Prevention Initiative to educate high school students, college students and community members about agunot and the option of a Jewish prenuptial agreement. Both the Rabbinical Council of America and the International Rabbinic Fellowship have adopted resolutions in recent years addressing the agunah crisis and seeking to universalize the use of the Jewish prenuptial agreement, demonstrating ORA’s incredible influence on this issue.