You are welcome to bring a relative or friend with you. They can wait with you and if you wish they can also come with you into the courtroom for the handover.
The Beth Din requests that women dress modestly, as such, please do not wear trousers and ensure that you have some form of head covering like a hat or scarf. Please remove any rings from your fingers before you come, the reason for this will be explained later on.
You should find out beforehand what your Hebrew and English names are because the Beth Din will contact you before you arrive to establish these and any other mutations of your names by which you are called (for example Jennifer who is called Jenny and in Hebrew is called Yocheved). This is so that all these names may be written in the Get document.
Please bear in mind that as with any court of law, appointments may run late. Tea and coffee will be available both before and after your appointment.
On a number of occasions during the handover of your Get, your name will be repeated. This is to make absolutely certain that your Get is being handed over to the correct person.
Your Get will be handed to you either by your husband or by his representative who must be someone approved by the Beth Din (should you wish to appoint a representative to receive your Get on your behalf, please discuss this with the Beth Din in advance). Before it is handed to you, it will be carefully read and checked to make sure that you are being given your Get and no one else's. The presiding Dayan will explain it to you and give you a translation of the text which is in Aramaic, as was your Ketubah.
The Dayan will check that you are not wearing any rings on your fingers. This is so that nothing will intervene between your hands and your Get.
Before it is handed to you, the Dayan will ask whether you are willing to receive it. Since a Get is invalid if not both willingly given and received, it will only be given to you if you are willing to receive it.
When the handover of the Get takes place, you will be asked to stand, facing your husband or his representative, with your hands cupped open to receive your Get. After reciting a declaration, which he repeats word for word after the presiding Dayan, your husband or his representative, will place the Get in your hands. At that moment you are divorced under Jewish law.
Once the Get is in your hands, you will be asked to hold it firmly and lift it up, as a sign that it is now yours. Then, as a sign of your independence from your former husband, you will be asked to place the Get in your pocket or tuck it under your arm, and then turn round and walk a few paces away from him. The Get will then be handed back to the witnesses, who will check to make sure that you have received the correct Get.
As soon as this procedure is over, you may sit down and replace any rings - or you can do so later. The Dayanim will tell you about the laws of remarriage. They will then wish you well for the future.
The Get itself is stored at the Beth Din in case it is lost or damaged. You will receive a Get certificate in both Hebrew and English, stating that you are entitled to remarry under Jewish law.
We hope that you have found this information informative. Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Beth Din Liaison Team this may be done by contacting the Beth Din or your local rabbi and rebbetzin.