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Beth din
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A beth din, beit din or beis din (בית דין, Hebrew: "house of judgment", plural battei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Land of Israel. Today, it is invested with legal powers in a number of religious matters, both in Israel and in Jewish communities throughout the world, where their judgments hold varying degrees of authority (depending upon the jurisdiction and subject matter) in matters specifically germane to Jewish religious life.
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Torah commentators point out that Jethro was the first to suggest to Moses that he divest his legal powers and delegate his power of judgment to lower courts. This situation was formalised later when God gave the explicit command (Deuteronomy 16:18) to "establish judges and officers in your gates".
There were three types of courts (Mishnah, tractate Sanhedrin 1:1-4 and 1:6):
- The Sanhedrin, the grand central court on the Temple Mount, numbering 71
- Smaller courts of 23, called a Sanhedrin Ketana, a "small Sanhedrin". These courts could pass the death verdict. These existed on two levels, the one higher in standing than the other:
- The smallest court of three; any smaller court could not pass binding verdicts and only dealt with monetary matters.
Participation in these courts required the classical semicha, the transmission of judicial authority in a straight line down from Moses. Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, the transmission of semicha has been suspended. Attempts in the 16th century to reinstate the semicha were unsuccessful; Rabbi Yosef Karo was one of the recipients of this semicha.
Courts ruled in both ritual and monetary matters (issurim and mamonoth). Any question that could not be resolved by a smaller court was passed up to a higher court. If the Sanhedrin was still uncertain, Divine opinion was sought through the Urim ve-Tumim (the parchment in the High Priest's breastplate, which was inscribed with the Name of God and could give metaphysical clues).
The Mishnah and Talmud distinguish between criminal (issurim) and civil (mamonoth) cases, and impose different regulations for each, with criminal cases generally having much more stringent limitations.
Even though normally an Orthodox beit din requires a minimum of three Jews knowledgeable and observant of Jewish Law, in new communities and exigencies, providing a thorough search has proved unfruitful, halakhah requires that even one Orthodox Jew can establish a beit din, since every Orthodox community is required to establish its own beit din.[citation needed]
In Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, a beth/beis din needs to be made up of three adult Jewish males, at least one of whom needs to be widely knowledgeable in halakha (Jewish law), and must be sufficiently knowledgeable to instruct the other two members in any matters of halakha relevant to the case being heard.
In practice, permanent battei din consist of three rabbis, while battei din for an occasional matter (e.g. handling religious vows) need not consist of rabbis. For courts that handle complex monetary cases or large community organisations, dayanim ("judges", singular: dayan) are required. A dayan has an additional semicha (yadin yadin) which enables him to participate in such a court and adjudicate complex cases involving highly technical points of law.
Battei din are required or preferred for the following matters:
- Validation of religious bills of divorce (get, pl. gittin);
- Hechsher: kosher certification of restaurants and food manufacturers;
- Examination of Shochetim and the control of the Shechita Inspectors
- Religious conversion: a ger tzedek ("convert" or "proselyte") requires a beth/beis din to be accepted into Judaism; it is convened to determine whether or not a prospective convert is sufficiently prepared to enter the "Covenant of Abraham" and to join the Jewish people. At least one member of the court must be a rabbi who is an expert on the laws of conversion.
- Supervising the building and maintenance of a mikvah;
- Determination of "personal status" (i.e. whether someone is a Jew according to halakha) - some battei din hold local records of marriages and deaths within the community.
- the authorization and supervision of mohelim.
- Questions relating to burial practices and mourning.
Battei din are sometimes used within the Orthodox Jewish community for the following matters:
- Civil disputes: The (Shulkhan Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 26) calls for having civil cases judged by religious courts instead of taking their cases to secular judges (arka'oth). Because modern Western societies have increasingly permitted civil disputes to be resolved by private arbitration, religious Jews have taken advantage of this legal environment by signing arbitration agreements appointing a particular Beth Din as their arbitrators in the event of a dispute. By this device, the rules, procedures, and judgment of the Beth Din are accepted and can be enforced by secular courts in the same manner as those of a secular arbitration association. However, religious courts cannot decide such disputes without the prior agreement of both parties.
A large beth/beis din may have the following officers:
- Av Beth Din (אב בית דין, literally "Father of the Court", abbreviated אב"ד / ABD) is the most senior jurist who may join in the adjudication of cases or advise the presiding dayanim. The av beth din will usually be a highly respected rabbi and posek, who can give responsa. Traditionally, the salaried rabbi of the local Jewish community served as the av beth din
- Rosh Beth Din (ראש בית דין, literally "Head of the Court", abbreviated רב"ד) equivalent to a chief justice, he will be the senior member of a three judge panel. In smaller courts the av beth din, also serves as the rosh.
- Dayan (דין Rabbinic Judge) who sits and adjudicates cases. A rabbinic judge may directly question and cross-examine witnesses.
- Chaver Beth Din (חבר בית דין Friend of the Court, Amicus curiae) is an internal adviser to the court. He may bring specialised expertise to the beth din. Often a chaver will be a dayan with training in secular law or science, who can share his experience and perspectives with the court. For example some battei din that deal with issues of shechiṭṭah, may have a chaver who is knowledgeable about veterinary medicine or meat science to assist the court, as an expert witness.
- The London Beth Din
- Beth Din of America
- Beth Din of South Africa
- Beis Din - Rabbinical Council of California
- European Masorti Beit Din
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