Friday, 2 February 2018

Introducing The Jewish Bet Din, Its Types, And Historical Value

By Kimberly Murray


It was evident that enforcement of laws and legal systems existed. The authorized person, with an authority and power vested on them, already became instruments on enforcement of various policies and rulings. Even in modern age, these are still applied in every legal decision that they are going to make.

The greatest house of law was first known to be composed of a group of wise men who would gather together in a holy hill. This was known as the Jewish bet din or sometimes spelled out as beth din. It was known to be the supreme and highest authority in both religious and civil matters not just in the holy capital city but in a nation as a whole.

During the old times, there was a convoluted series of courts. They have three known types. The first two are the Sanhedrin and Sanhedrin Ketana. There is no specific name for the third one but this article provides a description of it.

Sanhedrin is the highest and most supreme of the three. This was originally founded by seventy wise men who would met at a holy mount. A day came when a prophet asked them to be with him on a mission of governance of the nation. That made the court came back to him. He was appointed as a wisest man with a function of finalizing the relevant and formal decisions. As years passed by after his term, a nasi was appointed as a new leader that replaced him as the head.

Sanhedrin Katana consisted of twenty three judges. These judges would gather in some of biggest cities to discuss on important legal matters and issues. Just like the most supreme court, it had the authority to regulate rulings and impose penalties which are capital, corporal, and monetary in nature.

While courts were present in big cities, small villages and tribal communities with exactly or less than one hundred and twenty adult men also had their own judicial courts. Three judges composed them. They cannot be added unless their remaining number is odd. Unlike the larger ones such as Sanhedrin and Sanhedrin Katana, they had no power on imposing death and corporal penalties. Only those that are monetary were vested.

Regardless of these types, however, religious matters are the main concerns here. These are known collectively as dine Torah. In other communities and walks of life, these are enforced. These have become their guide to make the right decisions on different cases. The level of authority and jurisdiction are still taken into consideration when applying them in certain area.

Today, the competent rabbinic scholars took over this house of legal affairs and judgment. They are the reason why this still exists. Under their supervision, they make formal decision and judgment on different issues and concerns that may impact the Jewish populace. Such issues include those that are related, but not limited, to divorce.

Although it has lots of actions that restrict a particular action or event, this is still regarded as one of essential constituents on the regulation of way of life, whether personal, religious, or marital in kind. Resolving disputes are also part of its function. Their viability on a community depends on the factors, whether social, political or even economic.




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