- The Heskem Agreement establishes a forum to address marital conflict for a Jewish family in a healthy environment under the guidelines of Halacha. The agreement is signed before the wedding but, according to HaRav Elyashav ztz”l, it should not be signed on the day of the wedding.
- When signing the Heskem Agreement a specific Bais Din is designated. If marital conflict arises, the designated Bais Din must, within two (2) weeks of request by either party, assess the viability of Shalom Bayis. Additionally, at the first session the Bais Din must address maintaining the financial viability of the household, thus minimizing the conflict that currently destroys any hope of Shalom Bayis.
- Currently, when marital conflict arises, the process of agreeing on a venue whether Bais Din, secular court or Zabla takes many months and oftentimes years. The pain and damage done during this time period would be eliminated.
- The Zabla option with all of its inherent conflict is waived.
- Protocols for the religious observance of any future children are specified in the Heskem Agreement to avoid potential conflict if one parent is no longer observant at the time marital difficulties arise.
- Toanim who appear before the Bais Din must follow proper and ethical etiquette or they will be barred from further appearances.
- The financial costs that arise due to non-compliance with the directives of the Bais Din including the fees and costs of toanim, lawyers, etc., can be awarded by the Bais Din and are enforceable in a secular court.
- The Heskem Agreement specifies mechanisms for choosing a replacement Bais Din if a situation warrants it.
- The agreement was established to greatly reduce the current lengthy timeframes of divorce proceedings. Many of the delay tactics are addressed and will undoubtedly minimize the time, pain and damage caused under current situations.
