 Orthodox Judaism usually does not recognize Reform weddings because according to Talmudic law, the witnesses to the marriage must be Jews who observe halacha, which is seldom the case in reform weddings.Traditionally, when a husband fled, or his whereabouts were unknown for any reason, the woman was considered an "agunah" (literally "an anchored woman"), and was not allowed to remarry; in traditional Judaism, divorce can only be initiated by the husband.Prior to modern communication, the death of the husband while in a distant land was a common cause of this situation.