Questions tagged [beit-din-court]
Court of Jewish Law. Nowadays, they mostly adjudicate civil disputes, and are composed of 3 judges. Their decisions are halachically binding, and in most cases, legally as well.
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Can a court retroactively annul a vow that was already annulled by the father/husband?
If a woman made a vow and violated it, and it was later annulled by her father/husband, can the court now annul the vow retroactively if it finds an opening, thereby exempting her from being liable?
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Can a conversion be deemed invalid because of something a rabbi on the beit-din once said?
I've read a post where a person's conversion was deemed inappropriate because one of the Rabbis once said, when asked, 'would you officiate a mixed marriage?' The Rabbi, a distinguished knowledgeable ...
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Will the Moshiach's Beit Din be "greater" than previous Batei Din? [duplicate]
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 36a) says that a Beis Din does not have the power to overrule a Takkanah of a previous Beit Din. It is generally understood that earlier Batei Din are superior to later ones (...
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Why in a capital case of murder in beis din if all judges find the defendant guilty, is the defendent set free? [duplicate]
Why in a capital case of murder if all the judges find the defendent guilty , he is set free?
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The case of the lone witness
The Talmud says:
The Holy One, Blessed be He, hates... one who observes a licentious matter performed by another person and testifies against him alone.
[There was an] incident where Tuveya sinned......
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Cursing in G-d’s name
The Gemara (Bava Kamma 93a) says that the reason why Sarah passed away before Avraham was because she told him: “may G-d judge between us”.
The Gemara learns from there that it is forbidden to call ...
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Can someone call himself Jewish if he is in the process of converting?
Shalom! If one is in the final stages of conversion to Orthodox Judaism, is not a Noahide, does not belong to any religion, is it appropriate for him to say he is Jewish? He does not want to tell ...
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How do we ultimately know Korach was wrong?
As I was learning Maseches Moed Katan Daf 16a, the following question occurred to me (Just in time for the Parsha).
The Gemara in Moed Katan (see https://www.sefaria.org/Moed_Katan.16a.3?lang=bi&...
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Can a Noahide persuade a non-Jew not to convert to Judaism?
Can a Noahide rebuke and strongly and repeatedly persuade a non-jew [a complete stranger] who is in the process of converting to Judaism, not to covert and rather remain a Noahide and keep the seven ...
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Where is the Halacha about a single available Cohen committing a crime?
There is a Halacha about one unique Cohen remaining in Eretz Yisrael and the consequence were he to commit a crime.
I am seeking the original source as I only have a translation:
If there was only ...
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In Jewish law, can you sue for defamation?
Suppose someone falsely publishes false information about you, for example, writing on a public forum that you are not a trustworthy businessman because you once stole money from Reuven Israeli (no ...
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Why does one accused of manslaughter need to leave the city of refuge in order to be judged?
The Mishnah in Makkos 2:6 says that a person accused of manslaughter who escaped to a city of refuge needs to leave in order to be judged.
The question is: why must he leave, thereby risking his life -...
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Is a Defendant required to appear in Beth Din if the Plaintiff doesn't provide any evidence or witnesses?
Suppose Reuven shows up in Beth Din and says that he is owed $100,000 by Shimon. He does not provide any documentation or any witnesses beyond his own words. The Beth Din sends a summons to Shimon to ...
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Did Adam establish a justice system?
One of the mitzvot given to Adam was to establish laws and courts.
Was Adam successful in setting up a working justice system, and if so, do we know any practical details of how it operated and/or for ...
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Handing oneself in
I would like to know if one is obligated to hand oneself in to authorities if one committed a crime/sin and nobody caught them?
I would like to make this as general a question as the rules of the site ...
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Litigation vs out-of-court settlement
If I understand correctly, Batei Din encourage litigants to compromise / settle out of court rather than go to trial.
Where in Gemarah is this stated explicitly?
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How do you punish a murderer without witnesses?
Imagine such a case: A woman walks into a girls bathroom with a machine gun, killing someone.
Note: This is not the only case where we cannot punish the criminal. This would apply, in my opinion, to ...
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Galus - ערי מקלט - by self admittance
If someone comes to Bais Din and says he killed someone Beshogeg and there are no witnesses,
Will Bais Din be Mechayev him to go to the עיר המקלט?
If yes, can he then after a while say that he only ...
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"God told me so" claim in Jewish court [duplicate]
Imagine a person who is otherwise perfectly sane who claims to see a one-time revelation in his sleep/daydream and commits a crime, despite two witnesses warning him.
He understands the magnitude of ...
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Meaning of voting on Halacha in a random gathering
I previously associated "Halachic voting" with an authoritative and representative assembly of rabbis, until I stumbled over the following passage:
"דְּתַנְיָא: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי ...
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What was the mechanism of publicizing the ruled Halochos in the Talmudic era?
The Talmud teaches us that on numerous occasions various rabbis gathered at a shul or someone's place (usually a penthouse) and ruled/decided certain Halochos (see "נמנו וגמרו").
Was there a ...
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Is a secular court decision considered stealing in 7 laws of noach?
BH
There's a couple of slightly related questions
How do you handle possible Shabbat issues when receiving a jury summons?
Is trying to get out of jury duty permitted halachically?
Regarding secular ...
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Are gentiles accepted as witnesses by a Beis Din in civil law arbitrations?
I assume a gentile is not kosher to give eidus in general, (women, minors etc excluded - kal vekhomer gentiles..) although I may be mistaken.
But in a civil case brought before a beis din for ...
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What are some criteria that would allow a spouse to file for divorce in secular court?
Halachically, from my understanding, a spouse cannot file for divorce in a secular court without permission from Bais Din.
Are there any specific reasons spelled out, besides explicit permission from ...
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The Mitzvah of establishment of courts before Yitro's advice
Allegedly, the 7 Noahide Mitzvos were given to Adam and passed down to Moses. Even if we follow the approach that our forefathers were Noahides prior to the receiving of the Torah, they would be ...
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How would Beis Din rule in the Aguch v Gourary Case (Didan Natzach)? [closed]
In the case of the Chabad library case (Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States, v Gourary) a US federal court ruled that the (Previous) Rebbe's books belong to the Chabad community and not his ...
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Would a Beit Din open its proceedings with the recitation of Shehecheyanu?
I have never been present at a Beit Din, but recently came across a fictional representation of one (for the sake of explanation, let's say it was in a film or television program) that struck me as ...
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In the Golden Calf massacre, were the Levites only the executioners or also the judges?
After the Golden Calf worshipping, Moses commands the Leviites to go out and kill the infidels:
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימוּ אִישׁ־חַרְבּוֹ עַל־יְרֵכוֹ
עִבְרוּ וָשׁוּבוּ ...
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Why did Moses command the Levites to go out to slay instead of bringing the idolaters to the court?
After the Golden Calf worshipping, Moses commands the Leviites to go out and kill the infidels:
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימוּ אִישׁ־חַרְבּוֹ עַל־יְרֵכוֹ
עִבְרוּ וָשׁוּבוּ ...
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Did Pharisee Semichah tradition (rabbinic ordination) include tests?
IIRC, God commanded Moses to ordain Joshuah, so the latter hadn't had to pass any exams. The next 20 generations were all [considered] prophets, so I guess they had divine revelations also.
The ...
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In Golden Calf tragedy, who was hit with Heavenly plague?
Th the aftermath of the Golden Calf there were two rounds of executions: the massacre of 3000 fellow Jews and the Heavenly plague:
"וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְנֵי־לֵוִי כִּדְבַר מֹשֶׁה וַיִּפֹּל מִן־הָעָם ...
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How were the 3000 victims of the Golden Calf Massacre different from the rest?
In the Golden Calf massacre roughly 3000 people were killed:
"וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְנֵי־לֵוִי כִּדְבַר מֹשֶׁה וַיִּפֹּל מִן־הָעָם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כִּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אַלְפֵי אִישׁ׃"
"The Levites did ...
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How Golden Calf massacre can be reconciled with the Halachah
In Moses' words, God ordered a massacre in a very specific way: infidels should be executed with swords, and one should target his own relatives first:
".וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי ...
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Why would a malicious declaration of Rosh Hachodesh be legal (R"H 25a)?
R' Akiva famously interpreted a verse to legalize malicious rulings of Kiddush Hachodesh:
"אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו מוטעין:"
"[You are authorized to determine the ...
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Legitimacy of rulings accepted through spontaneous rabbinic gatherings
The Torah prescribes settling the law in a very special place:
"If a case is too baffling for you to decide, be it controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault—matters of dispute in your ...
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Doctors losing their licence/ r'shut beit din
Various sources refer to doctors acting with the permission of the beit din; some suggest that this is a mandatory requirement and that it is forbidden to practice medicine without such permission (eg ...
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Is Yitroh's judicial structure mentioned anywhere else in the Tanakh?
Yitro advised to divide the people into groups of 10, 50, 100,1000 and appoint a corresponding judge for every group.
Is the legal process of any of such judges mentioned in the Tanakh? I mean, does ...
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Why does Yitroh's advice disregard the tribal structure of the Hebrews?
IMHO, Yitroh's advice that was supported by Moses and God, of dividing the people into groups of 10,50, 100,1000 completely disregards the tribal structure:
וְאַתָּה תֶחֱזֶה מִכָּל־הָעָם אַנְשֵׁי־...
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Can a kofer be a dayan on a giyur beis din?
Assuming a person meets the Rambam's definition of a kofer as outlined in Hilchos Teshuvah Chapter 3, can such a person serve as dayan on a giyur beis din?
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When is the "insanity defense" applicable in Jewish Law? [duplicate]
In regards to the Halimi murder in France, a person made the assertion that Jewish law would agree with the recent verdict, as someone judged to lack discernment is not culpable. My memory is that ...
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Is there any Appeal Process after a Ruling of a Beis Din
Granted Avram Avinu didn't accept the initial sentence, but that was regarding a decree of Hashem.
Nowadays, is there in the legal structure an appellate Beis Bin where one can have recourse to have a ...
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How come that nobody could oppose to R' Gamliel in Halachah but could boot him promptly as the President?
I'm trying to understand the mechanics of the Jewish Presidency as presented in Berakhot.28a. In the story R"G asks if there is anybody who could object to him in a Halachic issue, and nobody ...
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Selection of pupils under R' Gamliel in Berakhot 28a
"תָּנָא אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, סִלְּקוּהוּ לְשׁוֹמֵר הַפֶּתַח וְנִתְּנָה לָהֶם רְשׁוּת לַתַּלְמִידִים לִיכָּנֵס. שֶׁהָיָה רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל מַכְרִיז וְאוֹמֵר: כׇּל תַּלְמִיד שֶׁאֵין תּוֹכוֹ כְּבָרוֹ, ...
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What was the Halachic base for establishing the inheritance of the Great Sanhedrin Presidency?
In the line of Nesi'im from Hillel to Gamliel IV, the position passed from father to son even if the son wasn't the brightest sage of the Sanhedrin (see R' Gamliel's testimony to R' Yehoshua).
Of ...
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How to understand the requirement for Supreme Judge to be tall and handsome?
Just as the members of a court of law must be cleared with respect to uprightness, so must they be clear of any physical defect. Every effort should be exerted in an intensive search for sufficiently ...
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At what age is a judge too old for the Sanhedrin?
A man who is advanced in years ... must not be appointed member of any Sanhedrin, since he is required to be compassionate. Hil. Sanhedrin 2.2
This is based on several Mishnaic (Horayot 1.4) and ...
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How much wisdom is the priesthood worth for the judges of the Sanhedrin?
It is a mitzvah to have priests and Levites included in the Great Sanhedrin... And if none can be found, it is permissible to have a court of exclusively Israelite judges. Rambam's Hil. Sanhedrin 2.2
...
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Why did the model of Rabbinic Pairs (Zugot) emerge and why was it abolished?
In What was the position of Av Beis Din vs Nassi in Rabbinic Pairs? I asked about the description of the two positions in the Sanhedrin.
However, why did this model suddenly emerge after almost 1500 ...
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What was the position of Av Beis Din vs Nassi in Rabbinic Pairs?
Traditionally, from Moses and on there was always only one head of the Sanhedrin, the president, the prince, the king, the Supreme Judge, Av Beis Din, etc. No other members or titles or names are ever ...
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When can you disregard a Jewish court's ruling?
Tractate Horayot discusses cases where rabbis and Jewish courts issue wrong rulings about Jewish observance, and what they must do to remedy. In particular, it rules:
This is the principle: One who ...
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