Friday 12 July 2019

The Jewish Bet Din Explained

By Barbara Wright


Judaism is a religion largely practiced in Israel, the United States of America, Canada, some parts of Europe, Brazil, South Africa and other countries that have a significant population of Jews. At the heart of Judaism, there is the Torah. This has a set of laws. The Jewish Bet Din occupies an important place in the Torah and in Judaism in general. It is a religious court. Thus, it deals with interpreting the religious laws that are found in the Torah. In Israel, there is the freedom of religion as well as other freedoms such as freedom of movement. Thus, one can believe anything.

The Bet Din just like any other court has a structure. There are senior officials of the court and there are the junior officials. A person can start on the lower levels and slowly climb up the ranks. To become an official of the court, one needs to be a person who has a very high level of integrity.

The chief of court is like the chief justice of the typical court out there. He is the person who is charged with making the final decision on all cases. He needs to be a rabbi who is well respected in Israel or in the country in question. He must have a rabbi certificate and a deep knowledge of Torah.

The Jewish religious court has been around for thousands of years. It is as old as Jewish history. One of the first places where the Jews are mentioned is the book of Genesis. At that time, they were slaves in Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt was a momentous event in the history of Jews. It marked the birth of a nation.

The ancient Bet Din was a very powerful court. It had a lot of say in everyday life in Israel. Its effects were felt all over the land. With its righteous judgments, the people of Israel flourished and they became the talk all over the world. It dealt with all kinds of judicial cases including criminal and civil cases.

The status of this court kept changing through history depending on the events taking place in the Holy Land. When the Jews were free, the court was all powerful all over the land. When they were under another empire, the powers of the court were either fully restricted or partially restricted. The Roman Empire granted the court a good deal of powers.

When the state of Israel was re-established in the 20th century, most aspects of Jewish history were restored. That includes the Hebrew language that had largely disappeared over the centuries. The Bet Din court was also restored but not as an independent entity but as a part of Israeli judiciary. However, its officials are top Israeli religious figures.

The Bet Din does not exist independently. It complements others courts such as the Supreme Court and the High Court. It serves as an alternative avenue for settling civil disputes in Israel as well as in other countries that have a high population of Israelis. A civil matter such as a divorce case does not have to go to court.




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