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260 Years After the Get from Cleves: A Controversial Get
by Y. Holland
17th Century Woodcut of Cleves
Part I
Two Controversies
Frankfurt-am-Main. A city renowned for its prominent Jewish community, among the most prestigious of German Jewry. Its Jewish inhabitants resided peacefully and quietly during a period of relative tranquility for German Jews. Its Rabbinic leaders were gedolei Torah whose awesome reputations have preceded them.
We have inherited their legacy in the form of seforim and chiddushei Torah which are studied to this day.
On various occasions, Frankfurt became a scene of contention. This occurred during the time of theav beis din HaRav Yaakov Yehoshua Falk, author of the P'nei Yehoshua, and later on, during the time of the av beis din HaRav Avraham Abish Lisa, author of Birchas Avraham on Shas. The P'nei Yehoshua sided with HaRav Emden in the famous dispute between HaRav Yonoson Eybeshitz, av beis din of Altoona, and HaRav Yaakov Emden, the Ya'avetz. This was in 5510 that Frankfurt became embroiled in a great machlokes.
Not long after, in 5526, the fires of controversy raged once again. This time, the blaze went forth from Frankfurt. The matter at hand: a get that was arranged in Cleves.
The city of Cleves is situated in Northwest Germany in the Rheinland, bordering Holland. It is an industrial center and thoroughfare between the two countries. Although commercial ties with Germany were weak, this was not the case with Holland and England, areas to which many Jews from Cleves emigrated at the time.
Ohr Yisrael
In 5523, HaRav Yisroel Lipschitz, (son of R' Eliezer Lipschitz) was appointed Rav of the Cleves kehilloh, which was composed of three small settlements. He had served previously as the Rav of Diez. R' Lipschitz, who was the grandfather of the Tiferes Yisroel on the Mishnah, printed one sefer by the name Ohr Yisroel. This sefer consists of responsa which, for the most part, deal with issues of marriage — a sign of his expertise in such matters.
A full thirty-seven responsa in thissefer concern the case of a get that was arranged for a young German couple, which has become known as "the get from Cleves."
Not much is known about the life of the Rav of Cleves, who arranged the get. This is not the case regarding his opponent in the controversy, HaRav Avraham Abish. R' Abish, considered one of the tzaddikei hador, was well known for his distinguished character.
In fact, in the famous dispute concerning the amulets, both R' Yonoson Eybeshitz and R' Yaakov Emden agreed to allow R' Abish, along with two other Rabbonim, to mediate and ascertain which party was correct. HaRav Abish, however, chose not to get involved in the quarrel. This stand was instrumental in his being chosen to serve on the beis din of Frankfurt.
Binyan Shlomoh
R' Nosson Maoz, a talmid of the P'nei Yehoshua, was a member of the Frankfurt Beis Din. His resoluteness and immovability are clearly recognizable in his sefer, Binyan Shlomo. (Offenbach, 5544) At the same time, he was one of the major forces in bringing about peace between the supporters of R' Yonoson Eybeshitz and the supporters of HaRav Yaakov Emden in Frankfurt. As a result of his role in attaining peace, he was chosen to be a member of the Frankfurt beis din.
During the life of R' Abish, he served as an active force due to his organizational abilities, and after HaRav Abish's death, he became rosh av beis din and reish mesivtah. R' Nosson Maoz was in the forefront of the battle over the get from Cleves.
What was the cause of this raging controversy?
Eliezer Neiberg, a resident of Mannheim, betrothed his son Yitzchok to Leah, the daughter of Yaakov Gunzhausen, who lived in Bonn. At the erusin, the wedding date was set for the eighth day of Elul, 5526. As was customary, numerous gifts were sent back and forth between chosson and kallah over the course of the summer.
At the beginning of Elul, the kallah's family packed their trunks and joyfully travelled to Mannheim, where the wedding was to take place. On Friday, the third of Elul, the kallah's entourage arrived, among them relatives, friends, and acquaintances. The Neiberg family, along with many prestigious members of the Mannheim kehilloh, warmly received the kallah and her party.
Among the guests from Bonn was HaRav Shimon Copenhagen, a prominent talmid chochom who had no idea of the trouble that awaited him. Had he known, it's reasonable to assume that he would have preferred to remain home and not become embroiled in the dispute.
On Shabbos Kodesh, the fourth of Elul, everything proceeded as expected. No one discerned any change in the chosson's demeanor.
However, by motzei Shabbos, it was clear that something was wrong. The chosson sat, withdrawn and pensive. In response to inquiries from his future father-in-law and Rav Shimon Copenhagen, Yitzchok Neiberg said that he was worried because he and his future wife lacked a suitable apartment. A few years earlier, his father had set aside an apartment, intending to give it to Yitzchok upon his marriage. In the interim, however, the apartment had been given to his brother-in-law, a doctor.
Early the next morning, the mechuton spoke with the boy's father, who guaranteed that the apartment would be vacated within a few days, at which point the young couple could move in.
The Chosson is Missing
Things seemed to be back on course. The wedding took place, as planned, on Wednesday, the eighth of Elul. The residents of Mannheim and the guests from Bonn danced with great fervor, rejoicing with the chosson and kallah. After the chuppah, the chosson stood up to say a dvar Torah, as was customary. His friends cut him off repeatedly with song, as is also the custom, to this day.
During their first week of marriage, the new couple attended sheva brochos meals, where an aura of simchah prevailed. Who could foresee that this was the "quiet before the storm?" Indeed, by the time the "storm" arrived, Shabbos Kodesh had already spread out it's wings over the city.
Early Shabbos morning, the guests gathered in the Neiberg home in order to accompany the chosson to shul, as was the custom on the Shabbos "schenk wein." (Schenk wein was the term used for the Shabbos after the wedding.)
The group waited for a full hour, but the chosson was apparently too embarrassed to leave his room. It was getting late. The time to leave for shul had long since passed, but the chosson was apparently still unwilling to come out. They pounded forcefully on his door, but received no reply.
Finally, having no choice, they broke down the door and entered. One can only imagine the extent of their surprise and worry when they discovered that the room was empty. The chosson was missing.
Pandemonium ensued, and everyone wondered what could have happened. As recently as the evening before, at the Shabbos seudah, the chosson had been in good spirits. His brother- in-law, the doctor, had recommended that Yitzchok refrain from eating a certain food for health reasons, but Yitzchok had scoffed at him and signaled to those seated nearby to pass him that very food. He then commenced to make merry with his friends at the expense of his brother-in-law. No one had sensed anything unusual in the chosson's behavior. Why had he run away? Where had he gone?
All of Mannheim was in an uproar. The puzzle became greater when it was discovered that the chosson, who had run off in his Shabbos clothes, had taken 94 gold kerlin from the dowry that had been in his room.
On Sunday, the twelfth of Elul, search parties went out. They discovered Yitzchok Neiberg hiding in the home of a Jew in a neighboring village. The young man, who was found lying in bed, was either unwilling or unable to explain the reason for his strange and sudden flight.
He stammered and finally blurted out that all his limbs had trembled, and he had suddenly been possessed by the fear of death. For this reason, he said, he had permitted himself to be mechalel Shabbos. If that wasn't enough, the young husband refused to return to his home in Mannheim.
Only after repeated entreaties did he agree to return to his city, where he was overcome with shame and fainted. Even after he revived, the chosson offered no explanation for his unusual behavior. The mechutonim conjectured that his mind had temporarily "snapped." They felt that it would be beneficial for the couple to move temporarily to Bonn. Perhaps, in a new place, Yitzchok would recover more quickly.
On Monday, Yitzchok was summoned to court. He swore to be true to the mighty Duke, and not to deceive anyone. After the ceremony, he turned to his wife and said: "I swore falsely."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
He replied, "Haven't I already deceived you?"
That day, a financial dispute erupted between the mechutonim. Rav Shimon Copenhagen successfully mediated between them, and peace was restored.
The next day, before the week of sheva brochos ended, the young couple left Mannheim, where their story was already well known. A day later, they reached a Jewish inn in Wiesnau, near Mainz. They had just arrived, when a woman entered and asked in their presence, "Is that the one who ran away on his Shabbos schenk wein?"
When he heard this, Yitzchok went crazy with rage and shame: This proved that everyone was talking about him! With great difficulty, they calmed him, and he finally sat down to dinner.
It once again seemed that things were back on course. The following Shabbos, no sign remained of the events that had transpired just a week earlier.
After Shabbos, Yitzchok asked to speak privately with Rav Shimon Copenhagen. He then confided that the kallah didn't find chen in his eyes, and he wished to divorce her. This, however, wasn't the main reason that he wanted a divorce. Yitzchok explained further: He was compelled to flee from the country immediately, for a reason he was not at liberty to divulge. As long as he remained, his life was in grave danger. He had no wish to leave his wife an agunah, and desired to divorce her according to halacha. The get, however, must be arranged with the utmost haste. If the matter was delayed, he would flee Germany, and his wife would be left bereft, against her will and against his own.
Having no choice, all involved agreed, with heavy hearts, to the arranging of a get. In those days, Yitzchok didn't drink. No one understood why he was behaving thus. He brushed off all questions with the following words: "Today I recall my sins, and I need a kaporoh. When I reach my destination in London, I will know what else I must do for the tikkun of my neshamah."
The Schwanenturm a prominent building in Cleves from at least the 15th century
The Storm at the End of the Tunnel
At that time, there was no av beis din in Bonn who dealt with matters of divorce, and because many of Yitzchok's acquaintances lived in the capital city of Dusseldorf, he was embarrassed to have the get arranged there. Since his travel route entailed passing Holland on the way to England, he agreed to arrange the get in Cleves, a village on the border of Holland.
On Sunday, the nineteenth of Elul, Yitzchok, along with his wife, her brother, her cousin, and her relative Rav Shimon Copenhagen travelled by ship from Bonn. On Tuesday morning, they reached their destination, and immediately went to the home of HaRav Yisroel Lipschitz, Rav of Cleves.
For three hours, they discussed the matter of the get and the contingent financial arrangements. The chosson repeated that if he returned to Mannheim, he was as good as dead, and the lives of others would be endangered as well. He refused to elaborate further, but one of the residents of Bonn who had come with the group to Cleves corroborated Yitzchok's words. He stated before the Rav that he knew why Yitzchok had to flee. Furthermore, it was his opinion that Yitzchok Neiberg's life was in imminent danger if he remained in Germany.
The Rav turned to Yitzchok and said, "I grieve for you. You are young. Why should you have to wander so far, without the knowledge of your parents?"
Yitzchok responded, "What can I tell you, Rebbe? If I return to Mannheim, I am a dead man. Please don't ask me to explain myself. Just take my word for it."
In addition, the young man asked the Rav to keep the get confidential, since a number of people from Mannheim were presently residing in Cleves, and he would be embarrassed if they found out. At this point, the Rav was as yet unaware of the chosson's strange behavior both before and after the wedding, nor did he know of the incident in which the young man had run away.
HaRav Lipschitz, who saw no reason to delay the get, began negotiating the monetary arrangements. After all the details were discussed and agreed upon, the get was arranged. In addition, a document testifying to the giving of the get was written (shtar ma'aseh Beis Din). This was because they were worried that the father of the chosson, who wasn't present and who still had no idea of what was happening to his son, might claim that they had tricked him and taken his money dishonestly.
In the shtar ma'aseh beis din we read, among other things:
"As a beis din of three we convened, on Tuesday, the twenty first of Elul, 5526 years after creation. At that time, the Torah scholar HaRav Yitzchok appeared before us...and expressing his unequivocal desire, released his wife Leah with a kosher get.
"The above stated before this beis din: 'My mind is made up, and I am compelled to wander far across the sea, for a reason known to me alone. I am aware of my Creator, and the fear of Him is upon me. Heaven forbid that I should leave my young wife with the status of an agunah...'
"The aforementioned R' Yitzchok then gave the woman a kosher get in the presence of this beis din, which she accepted from him with her full consent on this day...(now the document details the financial terms of the divorce; how much he had to give her, and what he retained for himself.)
"As proof of everything stated above, we, the members of the beis din, are signing our names on this day...:"
Hakoton Yisroel son of Morenu HaRav Eliezer, zt'l, from Cleves;
Hakoton Rav Naftoli Hertz, son of Morenu HaRav Feivish Katz from Hanover, zt'l;
Hakoton Yosef, son of Kvod HaRav Rav Binyomin Katz Elkish from Berlin.
In order to invest this document with additional credence, HaRav Rav Yitzchok, the son of HaRav Rav Eliezer of Mannheim has signed his name, after reading it over in its entirety, on this day:
Hakoton Yitzchok the son of Kvod HaRav Rav Eliezer of Mannheim.
On Wednesday, the twenty second of Elul, the kallah's family, Rav Shimon Copenhagen, and the chosson left the city of Cleves. Rav Shimon Copenhagen entreated the young man to remain in Bonn until after the Yomim Noraim, but he refused. When he went to say good-bye to his former wife, she turned her face away from him.
He laughed and said to her in German, "Why are you angry? I'm not angry with you, and when Hashem will grant me success, I will give presents to the sons that are born to you from another man."
Yitzchok Neiberg settled in London, where he engaged in business. Unbeknown to him, he was about to become the subject of a bitter controversy, in which all the gedolim of the time would eventually become involved.
End of Part I
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