Earlier this week I wrote about the dismal service offered by the Rabbanut when people come to register their marriage. Instead of being happy and encouraging the couple, they are often rude and force the couple to jump through hoops to prove that they are Jewish, even if they could confirm their status with a few phone calls.
Two commenters recommended using alternative services to the Rabbanut, one to the right (Eida Charedit), the other to the left (Tzohar). To the best of my knowledge, it is technically not legal to marry through either of these services yet Misrad Hapnim will often accept documents from the Eida (not sure about Tzohar) and register a couple as married.
I’ve also heard of couples marrying with a Reform rabbi, and somehow getting Misrad Hapnim to register the marriage.
I think that there is a lot of benefit to having a single body in charge of weddings, conversions, and divorces, it removes doubts for future generations and avoids the problem of “my son can’t marry your daughter”. It also means that there is a single location where records are kept, making it easier for future generations to trace family records.
That said, given the terrible service provided by the Rabbanut in some cities, maybe there should be some level of recognized competition to the Rabbanut.
This could mean licensing other organizations like the Eida or Tzohar to do weddings, and make sure that they have the halachic knowledge, appropriate supervision/control, and a proper record keeping system.
Alternatively they could relax the requirement to register the marriage in the city where one of the couple live. Given that some offices of the Rabbanbut are more “user friendly” than others, travelling to a neighbouring town to register a wedding would be a good alternative for some couples, and would keep control in the hands of the Rabbanut (I believe that this is similar to the conversion system proposed in the Rotem Bill).
There is already competition in other services provided by the Rabbanut such as Kashrut, Mikvaot, and Eruvin. Maybe it’s time to let the power of the free market force the Rabbanut to improve their customer services/
(BTW – I am deliberately avoiding the question of non Orthodox or secular weddings, I do have an opinion on that question, and maybe I’ll address it in a separate post)
3 comments:
This could mean licensing other organizations like the Eida or Tzohar to do weddings, and make sure that they have the halachic knowledge, appropriate supervision/control, and a proper record keeping system.
who would make sure they have the knowledge and record keeping and supervision, etc.? the same organization that provides the horrible service in the first place?
And once you open it up to competition, it would probably be illegal, and I am sure it would be brought to the courts for discrimination, to allow Eida and Tzohar (or others) and not allow Reform and Conservative to provide a competitive service as well.
Rafim
You're right that it would probably open the door to Secular or non-Orthodox weddings.
In any case it is only a matter of time before Secular Weddings are offered to people who are not Jewish, there are already options being discussed.
And I believe that even if there were alternatives available, the vast majority of Jewish Israelis would still choose an Orthodox wedding, provided that the Rabbanut offered a reasonable service.
Just like the vast majority of Jewish Israelis choose an Orthodox Brit, Bar Mitzva, or Funeral.
I am not sure it is a bad thing... but until someone (someone being the tzibbur) is willing to concede that that is what will happen and they are ok with it, taking control away from the Rabbanut is not the solution...
if they understand that, and are ok with it, then this might be the solution
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