after divorcing schwartz, who returned to europe, finkel, then in his 40s, married 16-year-old emma thomashefsky, sister of one of the most powerful figures in yiddish theatre, boris thomashefsky. they had two children, but their relationship was always troubled and eventually emma finkel left her husband and began divorce proceedings. her suit mentioned examples of spousal cruelty including violence. she began a relationship with another actor, david levinson. at the same time, moishe finkel's business partnership with jacob adler, which entailed managing the grand theatre together, ended with a bitter dispute and a legal battle for control of the theatre eventually settled in adler's favor. emma finkel and her lover had continued working for adler.