Today’s feature: Rabbis tout Jewish option to courts
With a vision in their hearts of an Israeli state run in accordance with Jewish legal tradition, a group of leading religious Zionist rabbis and experts in Jewish law met in Jerusalem Tuesday evening for the official launch of a chain of rabbinic courts that aspires to replace the civil court system.
Interesting. I used to say (only half-joking) that I’m for a (carefully constructed) Jewish theocracy in Israel. If Judaism survived by keeping together in ghettos throughout the tormented years, why should our national ghetto be different? The book has kept us alive – tradition passed down for thousands of years, kept together in close-knit community. Just because we invested in a prime piece of real estate in 1948 doesn’t mean we can just ignore the book that allowed us to survive in order to get there…
I think the question isn’t who is smarter, but who is more in line with Jewish tradition and value and philosophy and who is a representative of Western liberal ideology. It’s important that Judaism constantly examines itself and questions; that is what our whole Talmud is made of and it’s why the Torah is so vague (where do you think all those lawyers come from?)… Therefore, I think it would be wise to have some sort of Sanhedrin today, considering all the issues the scriptures did not discuss in detail. That’s what we do: we take what’s been written and apply it through detailed scrutiny.
Unlike the parochial haredi rabbinic courts, which serve ultra-Orthodox enclaves, Gazit men (women cannot be rabbinic judges) aspire to reach all walks of Israeli society. These rabbis and Jewish legal experts want Israelis – religious and secular, male and female, Jewish and gentile – to settle their monetary disputes and torts the Jewish way. But all this does require people who know what they are talking about, and act on what they learn. I would be afraid that this group of Zionist Orthodox rabbis will fall into a chauvinistic, power-hungry trap like so many men before them.
Turning to civil courts, they say, shows a lack of Jewish pride… “It is a shame that a nation with such a rich legal tradition turns to English law and Ottoman law instead looking to its own profound culture…”
Yes. Why? Because our tradition – while treating both men and women with respect; treating the poor, widows and orphans with dignity; and treating the Earth with care – is not the kind of tradition a liberal democracy is made up of. For instance – the community is first, whereas the individual tends to be first in the commercialism-ridden democracies of today. Also, there is an excellent psychology behind so many of our traditions that, when done with the right motivation and dedication, can create a beautiful life for all involved. I saw that apparent when I stayed in Gush Katif one shabbat last year – some of the most spiritually pure people I had ever met (I’m not necessarily linking it to living in Gaza in any way; but maybe it had to do with being a closed off community and surviving amidst enemies).
Be’eri’s motivation and that of his fellows in Gazit appears to be religious and cultural… Be’eri agreed that Gazit was part of a much larger cultural war being waged by religious Israelis to strengthen the state’s Jewish character.
Well, here’s hoping.
Whadya got: