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Beth din
A beth din (Hebrew: בֵּית דִּין, romanized: Bēṯ Dīn, lit. 'house of judgment', [beːθ ˈdiːn], Ashkenazic: beis din, plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. A hearing held before a beth din is called a din Torah (Hebrew: דין תורה, romanized: din Torah, lit. 'Torah law', plural dinei Torah). A beth din can be found both in Israel and in many Jewish diaspora communities.
A ruling (Hebrew: פסק, romanized: psak) from a beth din is based upon Jewish law (Hebrew: הלכה, romanized: halakha), though other legal systems are occasionally incorporated. Because it is not part of secular legal systems, when a case overlaps with secular courts its judgment is not always recognized by such courts.
Rabbinical commentators point out that the first suggestion in the Torah that the ruler divest his legal powers and delegate his power of judgment to lower courts was made by Jethro to Moses (Exodus 18:14–26). This situation was formalised later when God gave the explicit command to "establish judges and officers in your gates" (Deuteronomy 16:18).
There were three types of courts (Mishnah, tractate Sanhedrin 1:1-4 and 1:6):
Participation in these courts required the classical semikhah (rabbinic ordination), the transmission of judicial authority in an unbroken line down from Moses. Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, or at the latest the abolition of the position of Nasi in 425 CE, the transmission of semikhah has been suspended. Attempts in the 16th century to reinstate the semikhah were unsuccessful; Rabbi Yosef Karo was one of the recipients of this semikhah.
The Mishnah and Talmud distinguish between ritual or criminal matters and monetary matters (issurim and mamonoth), and impose different regulations for them, with criminal cases generally having much more stringent limitations. Courts ruled in both kinds of cases. 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 supernatural clues).
Given the suspension of semikhah, any beth din existing in medieval or modern times is in theory a court of laymen, acting as arbitrators. In practice, they are given greater powers than this by the local takkanot ha-kahal (community regulations), and are generally composed of experienced rabbis. Modern training institutes, especially in Israel, confer a qualification of dayan (religious judge), which is superior to the normal rabbinical qualification.
In Orthodox Judaism, the traditions state that a beth din consists of three observant Jewish men, at least one of whom is widely knowledgeable in halakha, to be capable of instructing the other members in any matters of halakha relevant to the case being heard. The rabbis on the beth din do not have to be expert in all aspects of Jewish law, rather only the area in question. For example, a beth din for conversion need only have expertise in conversion, not necessarily in all areas of Jewish law. There is also a number of opinions that permit women to serve on a beth din. One such opinion is that of Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel. Despite that, there are no Orthodox batei din currently with a woman as a member.
Beth din
A beth din (Hebrew: בֵּית דִּין, romanized: Bēṯ Dīn, lit. 'house of judgment', [beːθ ˈdiːn], Ashkenazic: beis din, plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. A hearing held before a beth din is called a din Torah (Hebrew: דין תורה, romanized: din Torah, lit. 'Torah law', plural dinei Torah). A beth din can be found both in Israel and in many Jewish diaspora communities.
A ruling (Hebrew: פסק, romanized: psak) from a beth din is based upon Jewish law (Hebrew: הלכה, romanized: halakha), though other legal systems are occasionally incorporated. Because it is not part of secular legal systems, when a case overlaps with secular courts its judgment is not always recognized by such courts.
Rabbinical commentators point out that the first suggestion in the Torah that the ruler divest his legal powers and delegate his power of judgment to lower courts was made by Jethro to Moses (Exodus 18:14–26). This situation was formalised later when God gave the explicit command to "establish judges and officers in your gates" (Deuteronomy 16:18).
There were three types of courts (Mishnah, tractate Sanhedrin 1:1-4 and 1:6):
Participation in these courts required the classical semikhah (rabbinic ordination), the transmission of judicial authority in an unbroken line down from Moses. Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, or at the latest the abolition of the position of Nasi in 425 CE, the transmission of semikhah has been suspended. Attempts in the 16th century to reinstate the semikhah were unsuccessful; Rabbi Yosef Karo was one of the recipients of this semikhah.
The Mishnah and Talmud distinguish between ritual or criminal matters and monetary matters (issurim and mamonoth), and impose different regulations for them, with criminal cases generally having much more stringent limitations. Courts ruled in both kinds of cases. 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 supernatural clues).
Given the suspension of semikhah, any beth din existing in medieval or modern times is in theory a court of laymen, acting as arbitrators. In practice, they are given greater powers than this by the local takkanot ha-kahal (community regulations), and are generally composed of experienced rabbis. Modern training institutes, especially in Israel, confer a qualification of dayan (religious judge), which is superior to the normal rabbinical qualification.
In Orthodox Judaism, the traditions state that a beth din consists of three observant Jewish men, at least one of whom is widely knowledgeable in halakha, to be capable of instructing the other members in any matters of halakha relevant to the case being heard. The rabbis on the beth din do not have to be expert in all aspects of Jewish law, rather only the area in question. For example, a beth din for conversion need only have expertise in conversion, not necessarily in all areas of Jewish law. There is also a number of opinions that permit women to serve on a beth din. One such opinion is that of Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel. Despite that, there are no Orthodox batei din currently with a woman as a member.