Someone just sent to me (thanks YG) this video of a chalitza that took place recently (supposedly). I was uncomfortable stealing the video considering all the Rabbis that are in it, so I am only linking to it instead of embedding it...
The video is just over an hour long, but much of the beginning is them setting up and getting ready and saying some Psalms. When it gets down to the mid 40's (minute marker), that is where the actual chalitza begins, though it is fairly slow.
The process looks very emotional. She has a hard time getting enough saliva to spit out, so they do that a few times..
Thank you for posting this. i'm a new reader to your blog and found the chalitza very interesting..makes me curious to know why they do what they do..what does the shoe mean, the spitting, etc?
ReplyDeletelaura
pennsylvania,us
You forgot to mention that the entire (male) population of Bnei Brak was watching.
ReplyDeleteLaura - if your question is in general why they do what they do, they do it because the Torah prescribes this routine as the method for releasing the widow from waiting for Yibum so she can now marry who she wants. It is the offical method of his refusal to marry her to re-establish his brothers name. The Torah says she has to remove his shoe and spit, etc..
ReplyDeleteI am not too well versed in the technical aspects of it. There were a lot of procedural things that took place that raised questions in my mind and I hope in the near future to clarify the procedure so I cn understand it better.
Thank you for answering. i do realize that it is because the Torah prescribes it,(specifically in Ruth - i think) i was just curious as to the deeper meanings of the actions.
ReplyDeleteMore to ponder...
laura
Was it as shocking for you as it was for me about how she took off the shoe, and just a lot of those details? That is not how i imagined it, and it looked extremly difficult. I am surprised so many people were there watching it like some sort of show.
ReplyDelete