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Monday 8 July 2019

The Jewish Bet Din Court 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 is religious in nature. That means that it can only be applied in a religious context and in this case it is the religion of Judaism. Therefore, a Christian or an Islam who is living in the state of Israel will not be bound by the rules of this court. This court has a number of officials.

The chief of court is the most senior official. He has a final say on all the matters of the court. This has to be a highly respected rabbi or posek. This is someone who understands the ins and outs of Torah, which is the holiest book in Judaism. A rabbinic judge will be concerned with cross-examining witnesses.

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.

In ancient times, this court was all powerful. It had a say on every judicial matter. That was the period just after Israelis settled in the Promised Land. The court was established so that justice could prevail in society and everybody could live in peace and harmony. Actually, religious courts and the other courts must strive to exercise justice.

Various Roman emperors either restricted the Israeli religious court or allowed it to thrive. In some cases, this court only had jurisdiction on Israeli people. Therefore, the Romans who lived in Jerusalem and the surrounding territories were subject to the laws of Rome. The Roman system of laws and the Judaism system of law were two different systems. One is religious and the other is not.

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.

In modern day times, a religious court complements the other courts. A country can have more than one religious court. Each religion can have its own religious court. This court is only restricted to civil matters. It does not have a say on criminal matters. These have to be handled by the office of public prosecutor of a country, which is a government institution.




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