Thursday 11 July 2019

The Jewish Bet Din Explained

By Barbara Wright


Some religions have a religious court. In Judaism, this court is called the Bet Din. In Islam, it is the Shariah Court, which is governed by a set of Islamic laws. The Jewish Bet Din is governed by Judaism laws. This is a set of laws that apply to the Jews. A religious Jew is a person who follows Judaism to the letter. In some places even secular Jews have to be governed by the laws of Judaism. Law and religion go hand in hand. In some cases, religion has even inspired the formation of national and local laws.

The Bet Din has a number of officials. These are people who are in good standing in society. A background check has to be done before a person becomes an official of the court. The process of background research can take some time. The appointed court official can either serve for a brief period or for his entire life.

The most senior court official is the chief of court. The chief of a religious court does not necessarily have to be appointed by the president or the prime minister of Israel. He can as well be appointed by the rabbinical authorities through wide ranging consultations. The chief of the Jewish religious court must be a well respected rabbi.

The Bet Din can be traced back to ancient Biblical times. The Bible starts with the book of Genesis. This documents the creation of planet earth. The next book is Exodus. It is in this book that one will start seeing references of this kind of court. The Exodus from Egypt to Israel was an important period in the history of the Jews.

In ancient times, this court was all powerful. It had a say on every judicial matter. That was the period just after Israelis settled in the Promised Land. The court was established so that justice could prevail in society and everybody could live in peace and harmony. Actually, religious courts and the other courts must strive to exercise justice.

The status of this court kept changing through history depending on the events taking place in the Holy Land. When the Jews were free, the court was all powerful all over the land. When they were under another empire, the powers of the court were either fully restricted or partially restricted. The Roman Empire granted the court a good deal of powers.

The Israeli religious court of the present day is largely active in Israel. It is also active in other countries of the world where there is a significant population of Jews such as the United States of America and Brazil. This court needs to exist in accordance with the other courts of the land such as the high court.

The present day Bet Din is largely concerned with civil matters. That means that it does not deal with criminal matters. These are left to the office of public prosecutor. The most common civil matter is divorce. The court will make the decision on the terms of annulling a marriage. Under the laws of Israel, two married people can divorce under certain conditions.




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