Shabbat Parashat Mishpatim 5785

Parashat Hashavua: We Want a Jewish Judicial System Now!

Tzedaka (acts of kindness) and mishpat (justice) together form the spine of Am Yisrael’s public life. A proper legal system and the receiving of the Torah guarantee the ability to lead an entire nation in the path of Avraham Avinu – “to guard the path of Hashem to do tzedaka and mishpat.” Parashiyot Yitro and Mishpatim are intimately connected to tzedaka and mishpat.

Yitro starts with Moshe’s father-in-law giving advice to Moshe on how to assemble proper judges in a logical system. This topic was generally broached at the end of Beshalach (“There He placed for them statutes and justice, and there He tested them” – Shemot 15:25). As Chazal explain, in Mara, Hashem gave Bnei Yisrael some Torah laws to be involved in, including principles of monetary law (Mechilta D’rabbi Yishmael ad loc.). This involvement got Bnei Yisrael started in the preparation for a proper judicial system.

Later in Yitro, four of the Ten Commandments are connected to the judicial system – false oaths, murder, theft/kidnapping, and false testimony. Right after the giving of the Torah, Mishpatim details many specific areas of Halacha that are the basis of adjudication in beit din. These include the rights of personal freedom, ethics of jurisprudence, and protection of the weak in society. Fields covered include damages, watchmen, loans, and preventing false testimony. Finally, the Torah goes back to the interaction with the Divine Presence at Sinai. This order reinforces the idea that significant Torah-based life depends on a properly functioning judicial system.

Going back thousands of years, it became rare for Jews to have a judicial system, through which to enforce rulings. With the establishment of the State of Israel, Chief Rabbi Herzog’s dream of a proper Jewish judicial system was fulfilled only very partially, with limitations that increased over time. Much work was employed to find a way to apply Torah principles in a modern economic society that involves many technologies and globally bound commerce.

Before founding the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit network of batei din, we did extensive research and held discussions with leading rabbis of our time, which enabled us to know how to provide up-to-date solutions for these challenges. Actually, the Israeli (and international) Law of Arbitration was helpful in building a fully functional beit din system for a democratic Jewish background. The rules of the Law of Arbitration are very in-step with Halacha, and when one follows them, it is relatively easy for litigants to enforce rulings.

In practice, litigants must accept beit din’s authority regarding their dispute by signing an arbitration agreement. Then beit din can hear the claims, listen to witnesses, consider proofs, and, when necessary, make use of experts to clarify complicated technical matters. Some batei din, including ours, provide a possibility to appeal decisions, and if there is a problem with enforcement of the ruling, the Israeli government bureau for such matters can be used.

Through the simple act of agreeing to adjudicate in beit din, litigants merit taking part in the fulfillment of the prophecy: “Zion will be redeemed through justice, and those who return to it, through tzedaka” (Yeshayahu 1:27). In times like these, this is especially critical. 

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