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Mesirah
Mesirah (or mesira, lit. 'to hand over') is the action in which one Jew reports the conduct of another Jew to a non-rabbinic authority in a manner and under the circumstances forbidden by rabbinic law. In any case, "excessive" punishment by non-Jews may be permissible if a precept of the Torah has been violated.
The term for an individual who commits mesirah is moser (Hebrew: מוסר) or mossur. A person who repeatedly violates this law by informing on his fellow Jews is considered subject to din moser (lit. 'law of the informer'), which is analogous to din rodef in that both prescribe death for the offender, at least in theory. According to some, in some circumstances the offender may be killed without warning.
The source of the ban comes from the Bava Kamma (Hebrew: בבא קמא) section of the Babylonian Talmud. The law was most likely instigated to ease Jewish life under Roman or Persian rule. This law is discussed in Babylonian Talmud, Maimonides, and in Shulchan Aruch. Shulchan Aruch, however, states that Jews should testify against each other in the gentile court in cases where it is obvious that they would be covering up for each other.
Maimonides states:
Whoever adjudicates in a non-Jewish court ... is wicked and it is as though he has reviled, blasphemed and rebelled against the law of Moses.
Maimonides further explains: "It is forbidden to hand over a Jew to the heathen, neither his person nor his goods, even if he is wicked and a sinner, even if he causes distress and pain to fellow-Jews. Whoever hands over a Jew to the heathen has no part in the next world. It is permitted to kill a moser wherever he is. It is even permitted to kill him before he has handed over (a fellow Jew)."
According to Michael Broyde, there are many different opinions among 20th-century rabbis as to the extent and circumstances mesirah is still valid in modern times. Chaim Kanievsky, a leading Israeli rabbi and posek in Haredi society ruled that reporting instances of sexual child abuse to the police is consistent with Jewish law. Hershel Schachter concurred, stating that abuse cases should be reported in full to the civil authorities.
According to The Times of Israel and a Channel 4 investigation, the concept of mesirah was used by a Haredi Jewish leader to protect community members investigated for child molestation from police investigation.
Mesirah
Mesirah (or mesira, lit. 'to hand over') is the action in which one Jew reports the conduct of another Jew to a non-rabbinic authority in a manner and under the circumstances forbidden by rabbinic law. In any case, "excessive" punishment by non-Jews may be permissible if a precept of the Torah has been violated.
The term for an individual who commits mesirah is moser (Hebrew: מוסר) or mossur. A person who repeatedly violates this law by informing on his fellow Jews is considered subject to din moser (lit. 'law of the informer'), which is analogous to din rodef in that both prescribe death for the offender, at least in theory. According to some, in some circumstances the offender may be killed without warning.
The source of the ban comes from the Bava Kamma (Hebrew: בבא קמא) section of the Babylonian Talmud. The law was most likely instigated to ease Jewish life under Roman or Persian rule. This law is discussed in Babylonian Talmud, Maimonides, and in Shulchan Aruch. Shulchan Aruch, however, states that Jews should testify against each other in the gentile court in cases where it is obvious that they would be covering up for each other.
Maimonides states:
Whoever adjudicates in a non-Jewish court ... is wicked and it is as though he has reviled, blasphemed and rebelled against the law of Moses.
Maimonides further explains: "It is forbidden to hand over a Jew to the heathen, neither his person nor his goods, even if he is wicked and a sinner, even if he causes distress and pain to fellow-Jews. Whoever hands over a Jew to the heathen has no part in the next world. It is permitted to kill a moser wherever he is. It is even permitted to kill him before he has handed over (a fellow Jew)."
According to Michael Broyde, there are many different opinions among 20th-century rabbis as to the extent and circumstances mesirah is still valid in modern times. Chaim Kanievsky, a leading Israeli rabbi and posek in Haredi society ruled that reporting instances of sexual child abuse to the police is consistent with Jewish law. Hershel Schachter concurred, stating that abuse cases should be reported in full to the civil authorities.
According to The Times of Israel and a Channel 4 investigation, the concept of mesirah was used by a Haredi Jewish leader to protect community members investigated for child molestation from police investigation.