Viva Hammer
Viva Hammer is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. She is finishing a book on Jewish family size.
Articles by Viva Hammer
Take Back the Night (and the Day)
Rushing into a conference midway through a speech, I scanned the room for a seat then stopped, startled. Had I entered the ...
Prepping for Passover Amid Grief and Taxes
It is the day before Passover and everyone has a yahrtzeit but me.My mother’s mother collapsed on seder night, ten days before her young grandson ...
Megillah on the Run
Purim for Jews is a public riot, but in our family we celebrate Purim quietly. My brother Daniel can’t hear and our ...
“Ich bin ein JOFA-nik!”
If I ever had a rabbi, Ruth Calderon would be her. I only ever saw Calderon once, on Youtube, as ...
Can A Woman Initiate Jewish Divorce Proceedings?
Under certain circumstances a woman may request that a Jewish court compel the husband to perform the acts required for a Jewish divorce.
Contemporary Activism to Save Agunot
An activist for agunot traces her development from demonstrator to promoter of prenuptial agreements that help protect women in the event of a divorce.
Prenuptial Agreements: A Good Solution to a Difficult Problem
Prenuptial marriage protection agreements that accord with halakhah, or Jewish law, can help secure a woman's freedom to remarry in case of a divorce.
Three Prenuptial Agreements That Just Might Work
Three prenuptial marriage protection agreements have been accepted by Orthodox rabbis as fulfilling halakhah (Jewish law).