Nonetheless, I don’t think it is unreasonable to utilize this loophole if it is the wife who refuses to co-operate. There is no reason to insist that men should be put in the same ‘Agunah’ box as woman if there is a legitimate option for them. It isn’t going to help Agunos to force men to suffer from the same problem.
But the Heter Meah Rabonim does have potential for abuse. And in the case of Meir Kin, that is exactly what happened. He found a court that would execute the Heter Meah Rabbonim for him. He was thus permitted to marry a second wife and continue withholding the Get from his first wife until she pays his ransom and gives up custody of their son to him.
According to the Times, no other Beis Din (religious court) outside of the one that gave him this Heter recognizes the court that issued it. There is even some question as to whether he actually got one. But even if he didn’t, he is biblically allowed to have two wives. His wife may not have two husbands. Doing so is biblical level adultery. This situation is outrageous. This Rasha gets to go on with his life all while holding his first wife hostage – unable to remarry unless she pays his price!
Mr. Kin has been ostracized by the religious community. The court that issued him the Heter Meah Rabbonim is discredited. But I guess none of this bothers him. $500,000 is a lot of money. In my view, maximum pressure must be exerted on people like this to stop torturing others for financial – or any other gain.
The New York Times reports that there are two Chabad shuls in Las Vegas (where he currently lives) that allow him to Daven there. They do not count him for the minyan – but in my view that is not enough. They must ban him entirely. The entire community must publicly shun him. Unless and until he gives his first wife a Get, he should be completely rejected by everyone. There should be absolutely no place for this man to go.
It is people like this that result in the kind of court that caused another Chilul HaShem in reverse. Members of that court were arrested for kidnapping and torturing husbands like this into giving their wives a Get. We cannot have these two extremes in Judaism. Torture is not what Judaism is all about under any circumstances. But that does not absolve us from our responsibility to do whatever we can on a communal level to see that justice is done for the Agunah.