The Case of the Cattle-Prod-Wielding Rabbis and the Proper Limits of Religious Freedom

In a decision that made for eye-catching headlines, a federal court upheld the conviction of a group of Orthodox Jews—including some rabbis—who, for a fee, would kidnap and torture recalcitrant husbands to force them to give a get, or halakhic bill of divorce, to wives they had abandoned. The defendants claimed that their activities were in fulfillment of a religious requirement and were thus protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Unsurprisingly, this argument failed to convince. But the court cited two reasons for its decision where, Michael A. Helfand argues, one would have been more than sufficient: