21 Lessons
Mishpatim May a Dayan Help the Poor in Beit Din?
We will try to explain in brief why the halachic system of litigation is preferable to the adversarial system, which is practiced in the government courts in Israel.
Parashat Hashavua Why Not Move the Aron? “Hineni”
We will try to look at yet another aspect of our great regard for the aron (ark) and its powerful religious significance.
Mishpatim National Spiritual Impact of Justice
Right after the giving of the Torah and before the many halachot that appear in our parasha, the Torah declares: "These are the statutes that you shall place before them" (Shemot 21:1), which is the source of the halacha that one must adjudicate in beit din (rather than non-Jewish or secular courts). This special location gives special importance to the place of Jewish monetary law in our national and individual lives.
Parashat Hashavua Cooperation with the State’s Legal Apparatus – Is it Possible?
Our parasha opens with the pasuk, “These are the statutes that you shall place before them” (Shemot 21:1). This is the source for Chazal’s derasha that adjudication is to be done in front of a Jewish beit din and not before non-Jews or those who are not trained in Torah law (Gittin 88b). The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 26:1) rules this way, including in cases in which both sides agree to the non-Torah arrangement. Not only that, but one who is not careful on this matter is called a “rasha” and like “one who blasphemes the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu.”
Parashat Hashavua The Halachic Status of a Corporation
As we customarily do on Parashat Mishpatim, we will discuss an element of our approach to the challenges of jurisprudence at the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit rabbinical courts. This time: what is the halachic status of a corporation, and how do our batei din handle the matter?
Mishpatim “These are the Laws” – Like a Set Table
In the past, we presented sources on the topic of an appeal’s court in a beit din system and the policy of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit network. The echoes from the big dispute that accompanied the establishment of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and the Rabbinical Courts reverberate to this day. It started between the rabbis of Yerushalayim and those of Yafo, and it turned into a machloket between supporters of the Chief Rabbinate, founded by Rav A.Y. Kook z.t.l., and opponents, led by Rav Chaim Zonnenfeld z.t.l.
Parashat Hashavua Justice and Shemitta
Our parasha has many references to matters of proper jurisprudence, which we like to focus on. This time we will explore some of the parasha’s more general instructions given to batei din and their proximity to another mitzva that is dear to us. In Shemot 23:6-8, the Torah warns not to tip justice against the poor, to stay away from falsehood, and not to take bribes. The Torah (ibid. 9) forbids harming foreigners/converts. This is followed by three p’sukim on the Shabbat of the land (=Shemitta) and on standard Shabbat. Some of our great thinkers searched for connections between these matters.
Mishpatim The Absolute and the Conditional
Although Mishpatim follows Yitro, the two parshiyot are very different in nature.