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Legal Information: Religious

Jewish Community

Updated
Laws current as of August 7, 2018

What is the Lieberman Clause?

The Lieberman Clause was created in the 1950s by Rabbi Lieberman in the Conservative movement. It’s a special part added to the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract). It says that if the couple ever gets divorced, they agree to use a specific beit din (rabbinical court) and follow what it says about giving a get (Jewish divorce). Conservative rabbis later added a Letter of Intent, which is a separate document to make the agreement stronger in civil court.1 You can see examples of the Lieberman Clause and the Letter of Intent at RitualWell.org. (The Lieberman Clause is not used within the Orthodox movement.)

1 See the Rabbinical Assembly website and The Joint Bet Din of the Conservative Movement chapter in Hakol Kol Yaakov

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