With everything happening that’s been happening, there’s been some other news in Israel. The Supreme Court appointed a new president, without the consent of the elected government. It’s a continuation of the fights surrounding the judicial reform. I won’t bore you with all the details. But I will say, that this is not the Torah’s ideal at all of a proper justice system.
Following Matan Torah in parshas Yisro, the Torah continues with parshas Mishpatim. Mishpatim are judgments, or the laws discussing all types of damages and monetary issues between people. There is a huge amount of halachah here: Thirty chapters in Shas, besides for everything else spread throughout Shas. And over here, the Zohar at the beginning of Mishpatm discusses the secrets and rules of gilgulim - when neshamos are sent back to this world. What’s the connection to judgment?
The Chofetz Chaim says if one doesn’t understand the concept and method of gilgulim, they can’t possibly understand how Hashem runs the world.
The Chazon Ish explains this with the following example: If one finds money on the street, something with no sign of ownership, there’s a question about keeping it. One can acquire a hefker - ownerless item. Things become hefker when there’s yiush - the owner despairs of ever finding it. However, if the owner doesn’t realize they’ve lost something, it’s a question if yiush shelo mida’as - despairing without even knowing they’ve lost it - makes it ownerless.
We rule that yiush shelo mida’as does not work. The gemara says by money found on the street, we assume the owner realized and had yiush. However, the Chazon Ish explains, even if we would somehow find the owner and find out that they didn’t have yiush, we would still allow the finder to keep it. Why? It must be the one who lost the money owed the finder from a previous gilgul and never paid. Only after the finder picked it up is when the yiush shelo mida’as took effect. That means the finder received the money from the previous owner, and not from hefker.
This is a reason why the Zohar here speaks about gilgulim - for us to understand that all the reasons behind the mishpatim are beyond what we might have otherwise thought.
A non-Jewish judge who we know is honest and just has the important job to try and figure out the truth. He needs to hear the arguments, interview witnesses, see evidence, and try to use his logic to come out with a clear and honest ruling, to the best of his ability.
By the mishpatim of the Torah, things work differently. The purpose of a Beis Din is to reveal the halachah according to the Torah - to follow Hashem’s ruling. Rav Mordechai Gifter zts”l said it’s the Beis Din’s job to reveal Hashem’s ratzon - will and desire - in this world through judgement according to halachah. That is revealing the real truth.
It’s a sin for Jews to go to secular courts - arka’ose. Rashi brings the Medrash Tanchuma which says: If Jews choose to go to arka’ose instead of a Beis Din, even when knowing they will have the same ruling in both places, he is denying Hashem and the Torah and creating a chilul Hashem. Hashem gave us good laws! And if we support the Beis Dins, then we will merit to the rebuilding of Yerushalayim and the return of the Sanhedin!
However, what happens when there are frum Jews who don’t want to go to Beis Din because they can get much more in the secular courts! They’ll say that Beis Din can’t do that much, and they definitely won’t be able to claim and win all sorts of compensations which they can try to win in the secular court system. Beis Din will try to arrange a peshara - compromise. And I don’t want to lose out; I’m claiming so much more, and I know I’m right! There’s a lot of money at stake. (And we’re not even discussing anything which is clearly against halachah - just claims which one can only get in secular courts and not Beis Din.)
These claims are true. However, one needs to know it is ratzon Hashem to go to the Beis Din, and the ruling of Beis Din is ratzon Hashem. The fact that Beis Din can only make a pesharah is also ratzon Hashem! They’ll also be creating a kidush Hashem by going to the Beis din, and most of all, they won’t suffer any loss at all by following ratzon Hashem!
On the flip side, if money gets won/taken improperly from the accused through the arka’ose, Hashem arranges so it gets returned. You might ask: If it’s decreed the accused should lose money, isn’t that also ratzon Hashem? Why should it be returned? We’ll answer, that if it was taken illegally, the accused also receives forgiveness for whatever reason there was they needed to lose it (a gilgul for example), and since it was taken illegally, Hashem repays it! For example, if it’s decreed one should sit in prison, but instead we’ll smash their car, and then replace it, they wouldn’t take it? They would take it initially if offered! Here, too, they got the forgiveness, and the money was returned to them!
The bottom line is: If money is stolen or taken illegally, Hashem returns it. Whatever is taken improperly will be lost in the end.
The Chasam Sofer (Likutim al haTorah) says, based upon pesukim, that when one goes to the arka’ose, whichever nation they’re in, the sa’ar (angel) of that nation shows up in the court. That spiritual force is being empowered through the courts. Why there? Because the judges represent the finest of the nation. That’s why the judges would sit by the city entrance, so that all visitors would see the most respected people.
How about in Eretz Yisrael? There is no sa’ar in this land. It is directly under Hashem’s overview and involvement or… the Satan’s. When there’s a mixture of the worst secular and anti-Torah justice system, that influence is being empowered. When we go to the Beis Din, Hashem’s honor and supremacy is being raised!
(I’ve heard in Yerushalyim and Beitar Illit, some Arab builders make arrangements with the customers that if there’s any disputes they’ll go to the local Beis Din and not to the secular court. They know that they’ll get a truthful and honest ruling there.)
The order in the Torah first has Yisro suggesting and setting up the judicial system. That was followed by Matan Torah. Then we have all the halachos of mishpatim, and then, at the end, we come back to Matan Torah with na’ase v’nishma - we will do and we will hear. This is teaching us judgement is essential to accepting the Torah. Before the Torah was given, Klal Yisrael would decide everything based upon logic. After Matan Torah there was a switch to accepting the Torah’s ruling, even when it wasn’t fully understood. That’s fulfilling ratzon Hashem.
We need an overall encouragement regarding respecting, using, and supporting our Beis Dins and staying away from the secular courts. (If one gets instructed by their rav to go to secular court, that’s a different story.) However, having emunah and bitachon we will never lose by following ratzon Hashem is the biggest lesson here. And by fulfilling ratzon Hashem we are spreading Hashem’s kedushah around even more, bringing us closer to the complete geulah!
Based upon shiurim heard from Rav Yisrael Altusky shlita, Yeshiva Torah Ore, Yerushalayim. Shiurim can be heard on the Kol Halashon website.
