In his weekly shiur on Motzei Shabbos, HaRav Dovid Yosef spoke about the approval of the Arbitration Law, which restored authority to state Rabbinical courts to adjudicate monetary matters.

HaRav Yosef said: “For 60 years, the Rabbinical courts had the authority to adjudicate with the consent of both parties. Suddenly, 20 years ago, three Supreme Court justices decided that the courts have no authority. Why? Just because. The law didn’t change, nothing was written—yet suddenly they ruled there is no authority. It was simply a terrible injustice.”

“A court directive was issued that any state dayan is forbidden—even voluntarily—to serve as a dayan in monetary law. Why? Just because. It was a terrible Chillul Hashem that in our own country we were forced to go to secular courts.”

“Every dayan in the Rabbinical courts must study Choshen Mishpat for ten years, day and night, to master the material. The most outstanding dayanim are in our courts. Today, when people go to private batei din, if one party is unhappy with the ruling, he runs to a secular court and revokes it, claiming the ruling is correct according to Torah but not according to state law. Now, with the approval of the new law, the authority of the rabbinical courts has full legal force.”

“This is about restoring the foundations of our religion. We believe in the Torah, not in their laws. Chazal say that the first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because the shoftim did not rule according to the Torah. We want to save Am Yisrael so that the yishuv here will not be destroyed, chas v’shalom.”

“Even regarding enforcement proceedings (execution sales), it is strictly forbidden to purchase from them, because they seize property in rulings that are not in accordance with halacha, and it is considered outright theft.”

“I call on every Jew who is Shomer Torah u’mitvos: don’t go to the secular courts. ‘They have forsaken Me, the source of living waters, to dig for themselves broken cisterns.’ The gates of the Rabbinical courts will open, and we will do everything properly, according to halacha. I will sit with the heads of the Rabbinical courts and formulate a detailed plan for implementing the law.”

HaRav Yosef concluded with a bracha: “May it be fulfilled in us: ‘Restore your judges as at first.’ A dayan who judges truthfully becomes a partner with Hakadosh Baruch Hu in the act of Creation. B’Sheim Hashem, we will act and succeed.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)