Torah law in the State of Israel

Mishpetei Eretz Institute, Ofra

5767

ISBN 978-965-91142-0-7

Introduction

Law fulfills a very important role in the State of Israel. "The People of the Book" are also the People of the Law. More and more decisions which formulate both personal and public life are being made in the courts of law. These decisions deal with questions of governmental ethics, the running of the army, political decisions, personal status and more.

 The nature of rulings in the Israeli legal system in recent years highlights the fact that jurisdiction is first and foremost a result of moral ruling. As with every person, the set of values, the culture, the sources of influence and vision of the judge are the factors that mold his point of view, his interpretation, his judgment, and, consequently, his rulings.

 In light of this, it is clear that the abandonment of the Torah legal system by the Israeli judicial system is a value-based, strategic decision to adopt a different world of values. The Jewish believer, together with every person who values Jewish law, knows that the Torah of Israel is the Torah of Life.

 Justice and law, emanating from both the language and the people of Israel, should take first place and should displace foreign expressions and laws which have found a place of honor in the halls of Israeli justice.

 that it is the (מסכת אבות) We are told in the tractate of the Ethics of the Fathers dayan, presiding over his court, who first and foremost has to recite the prayer for the government and give expression to this in his rulings. From here it follows that in the fields of keeping public peace, personal and national security, criminal law and the penal system, the army and the police, it is for us to keep and to obey, to amend and improve the existing systems.

 In this booklet we wish to focus first and foremost on civil law, on the constant complaints that people lodge against one another, amongst different authorities, between companies and their clients and between employees and their employer. Wherever monetary laws are applicable, the law of Torah should be used, as is required by halacha .

 The Mishpetei Eretz Institute for Halacha and Law has set this as its aim, while striving to train broad-minded dayanim, talmidei hachamim. This broad vision aims to judge faithfully and truly, while recognizing the State of Israel as a factor in halacha and law.

 This booklet is the first in a series of booklets dealing with research and legal sources. It comes in order to establish the need for a legal Torah system and provides the reader with facts about this system and reinforces its accessibility. The booklet was edited by Rav Ido Rechnitz, who is in charge of the field of research at the Institute, together with Rav Dr. Itamar Wahrhaftig, a member of the educational and research staff at the Institute.

 help us to restore our judges as of old and our advisers as they once were, ה' May may He remove all grief and sorrow, so that we may found an Academy of Law that is a reflection of our true heritage.

"ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה" (ישעיהו א, כז)

"Zion shall be saved by justice, her repentant ones by righteousness" (Isiah 1, 27)

Rav Avraham Giesser

Head of Mishpetei Eretz Institute

Rav of Ofra