Meanings of rend apart in English

At such moments the hard shell of his rough woods life seemed to rend apart.

A 'no' could rend apart the fragile coalition.

He caught himself, stopped his knife and fork in the act of rending apart a broiled chicken.

With a great wrench, the guard rends apart Deniel's threads, below the tear that I gave him.

The word translated 'transgression' seems literally to signify separation, or rending apart, or departure, and hence comes to express the notion of apostasy and rebellion.