"I know you can help me, Rabbi, and I know you want this.." Aliza whispered, her voice trembling with a delicate mix of innocence and temptation. She leaned in closer, her breath warm against his ear, as the dim light of the synagogue basement cast long shadows on the walls. "I've heard you're... very good at helping women in need."
The rabbi's throat tightened, his eyes darting around the room as if searching for an escape. But there was none. This felt wrong. Something was off. But the way she looked at him--those doe eyes, the soft curve of her lips, the way her blouse clung just enough to hint at what lay beneath--it was impossible to think clearly. "I... I don't think I'm the appropriate person to help you, Mrs. Fineber-," he finally managed, his voice hoarse.
She tilted her head, her dark curls spilling over her shoulder. "Oh, you can call me Aliza. And why not? You're a man of guidance, aren't you? A spiritual leader. And I..." She paused, biting her lower lip. "I'm just a woman in need of help. My child--my child needs you. I don't know where else to turn. I need someone to help me."
The mention of a child seemed to soften him, just as she'd hoped. "What about your husband? Doesn't he--?"
"He's gone," she interrupted, her voice breaking. "Left me. I'm all alone, Rabbi. I need someone strong. Someone... like you."
---
It had started three weeks earlier, over a cup of coffee at her friend Avital's apartment. Avital had been pacing the room, her face pale, her hands trembling as she clutched her mug. "He won't give it to me, Aliza," she said, her voice cracking. "He's punishing me. He says I'm not a good wife, that I don't deserve a get. And now... now I'm stuck. I can't move on. I can't live."
Aliza watched her best friend, her heart breaking. Avital had always been so vibrant, so full of life. But now, she looked like a shadow of herself--hollowed out, defeated. It had been three years since Avital and her husband, Rabbi Moshe, had separated. Three years of silence, of bitterness, of pain. At first, he'd claimed she didn't want to accept the get, the Jewish bill of divorce. SInce Jewish law dictates that a woman may not remarry without a get, she was an Aguna, or a chained woman.
He told everyone she was stubborn, that she refused to move on, that she was clinging to a marriage that was already dead. Avital had been furious. She'd tried to correct the narrative, to make it clear that she was more than willing to accept the get--that it was him who was refusing to give it. But no one listened.
"He's a rabbi," people would say, their voices tinged with awe and respect. "He wouldn't do something like that." They believed his lies, swallowed his stories whole. And why wouldn't they? He was charming, eloquent, a pillar of the community. Avital, on the other hand, was just his estranged wife. A woman on the margins, her voice drowned out by his.
For years, she'd tried to fight it. She'd gone to other rabbis, and pleaded with them to intervene. But they were either too afraid of him--or too biased in his favor--to do anything. "Give it time," they'd say, their voices dismissive. "He'll come around." But he didn't. And Avital was left in limbo, unable to move on, unable to start her life anew.
Worst of all were the rumors. That she was difficult, that she was unstable, that she'd driven him away. They spread like wildfire, whispered in shul corners and over Shabbos tables. Avital tried to ignore them, but they wore her down, piece by piece. Now, three years later, she was a shell of the woman she'd once been--broken, defeated, and utterly alone.
"I tried," Avital had said, her voice hollow. "I tried everything. But no one cares. No one will help me. He's untouchable." Her hands had trembled as she spoke, her eyes filled with a mix of anger and despair. "I'm stuck, Aliza. And I don't know how to get free."
"There has to be something we can do," Aliza said, her voice firm. "We can't just let him get away with this."
Avital laughed bitterly. "And what are we going to do? He's a rabbi, Aliza. He's respected, loved. No one will stand up to him. No one. Believe me, I've tried"
Aliza set her coffee down, her mind racing. Respected, loved... but not untouchable. "What if," she began slowly, "we... force his hand?"
Avital froze, her eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"
"What if we find something--something that would ruin him if it got out? Something that would force him to give you the get?"
Avital shook her head, her fingers tightening around the edge of the table. "It's not that simple, Aliza. He's too smart for that. He's always been meticulous, careful. He's not going to leave anything lying around that we can use against him. He's protected himself too well."
Aliza leaned forward, her eyes sharp with determination. "Then maybe we'll just have to set it up ourselves."
Avital froze, her eyes widening. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," Aliza continued, her voice low and steady, "if he's not going to give us anything, we'll create something. Something he can't ignore. Something that will force his hand."
Avital's heart pounded in her chest. She knew Aliza was desperate to help her, but this... this was something else entirely. "Aliza, that's... that's crazy. We can't just--"
"Why not?" Aliza interrupted, her voice rising slightly. "He's playing dirty, Avital. He's holding your life hostage. If we don't fight back, he wins. And I'm not going to let that happen."
