Introduction To The Facts, Kinds, And Historical Essence Of Jewish Bet Din

By Kimberly Murray


Even many centuries ago, a legal system already came into an existence. This administered various rulings of governance and punishments as well. They served as the foundation of every judicial decisions made, even until today.

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.

Three types of courts were identified. Although the third one has no name, its nature and structure are written in this literature. The two are called Sanhedrin and Sanhedrin Katana.

Sanhedrin, the grand judicial court, comprised of seventy one wise men who would gather together on the hill which was known to be the holy place in the old biblical city. At first, there were only seventy wise men that comprised it until a prophet called their attention and invited them to be with him in leading the entire nation. That made seventy one, thereby bringing back the court to him. In that setting, he was recognized as the wisest man who would make a final decision on legal cases. As many years passed, a nasi replaced the wise prophet and took over his position as the wisest.

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.

The smaller cities or villages were composed of mainly one hundred twenty men or less, most of which are adults. These, on the other hand, had the smallest courts that comprised of three judges. They could be more than three if the number of remaining ones is odd. Their judges, however, were not allowed to impose monetary punishments but not on corporal and capital types.

Regardless of its varied types, this legal system of judgment is basically focused on the religious living of the people under its sovereign power. Such matter is known as din Torah. This has been practiced in some communities where judgments are being made depending on a hierarchy of authority and jurisdiction as vested upon.

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.

The bottom line here is that no matter how strict it is, this is still a known instrumentality on the regulations of matters like religious life, family disputes, marriage, and the like. This all just depends on the political, economic, and social conditions of its area of jurisdiction.




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