Wish a cross-continental mazal tov to Shira on receiving her get – finally offering her comfort after years of struggle. 

Shira is from Miami, and though her (former) husband lives in Mexico, he would not agree to grant her a divorce – despite their not living together, and despite his being seen with other women. Even after the courts intervened in Mexico and Miami, he remained recalcitrant.  Most likely, nothing would have changed – had he not arrived in Israel for his father’s yahrzeit memorial.

Upon his arrival in Israel rabbinical court advocate Devorah Brisk of OTS’s Yad La’isha: Monica Dennis Goldberg Legal Aid Center quickly had a stay-of-exit order issued, preventing him from leaving the country and enabling him to be brought to court. Two weeks of difficult discussions later – and with the close cooperation of tribunal head Rabbi Zebadia Cohen, who also did everything possible to make it clear to him that if he didn’t give Shira her get he would remain stuck in Israel – Shira’s husband finally agreed to set her free.

When Shira and Devorah left the rabbinic court, Devorah’s phone rang; none other than Chief Rabbi Touboul of Mexico was on the line. Rabbi Touboul told Devorah that as he spoke, tears were streaming from his eyes, for he had not believed that he would see the day that Shira would go free.

So congratulations to Shira, who returned to Miami as a free woman, and congratulations to Advocate Devorah Brisk, who returned to the Tel Aviv branch of Yad La’isha to save other trapped agunot.