The idea of Law is very abstract. The arena of the abstract is treacherous to the uninitiated and full of pitfalls and dead ends. In the order of things, real events and experiences, empirical science and history, applied mechanics and optics, and political and social history should be the stepping stones to abstract thought and generalization. Professor Aaron Kirschenbaum navigates with great skill the issue of Abstract Law. His two volume Equity in Jewish Law includes a plethora of case histories from the Talmud and the Responsa Literature which help crystallize the actual application of Jewish Law and the implementation of Mishpat Tzedek..
Abstractions can bring one into many areas: the idea of Natural Law, Self Evidence, and Intuition. While still in the area of abstraction, yet our inquiries must bring us to some sort of conclusion. For this reason, case histories are essential for the learning process. Whether in Torah Law or in Secular Law, it is in the cases that came before the court that we can see the implementation of abstract legal principles.
The area of Choshen Mishpat, Jewish Business Law, fell into disuse at the time of Napoleon and the Emancipation. As Jewish Communities throughout Europe and 100 years later in North Africa, lost their internal sovereignty, so Jews no longer attended Jewish Courts of Law. The Secular Courts assumed jurisdiction even over disputes between Jews. As Menachem Elon explains in multi-volume work on Jewish Law, this was a major loss for the Jewish People. Choshen Mishpat became an academic subject, studied in the Halls of Jewish Learning, but not implemented or used in practical daily affairs. Professor Elon details how it was the hope of many leading Rabbinical figures in Israel in 1948 who hoped that the Laws of Choshen Mishpat would replace Turkish and English Law in the new State of Israel. It did not happen.
The Jewish People have been promised that this will happen. The prophet Zecharia promises:
זכריה פרק ח
(יח) וַיְהִי דְּבַר יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:
יט) כֹּה אָמַר יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת צוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וְצוֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי וְצוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְצוֹם הָעֲשִׂירִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵית יְהוּדָה לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים טוֹבִים וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ: פ
כ) כֹּה אָמַר יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת עֹד אֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ עַמִּים וְיֹשְׁבֵי עָרִים רַבּוֹת:
כא) וְהָלְכוּ יֹשְׁבֵי אַחַת אֶל אַחַת לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה הָלוֹךְ לְחַלּוֹת אֶת פְּנֵי יְקֹוָק וּלְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת אֵלְכָה גַּם אָנִי:
כב) וּבָאוּ עַמִּים רַבִּים וְגוֹיִם עֲצוּמִים לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וּלְחַלּוֹת אֶת פְּנֵי יְקֹוָק: ס
כג) כֹּה אָמַר יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה אֲשֶׁר יַחֲזִיקוּ עֲשָׂרָה אֲנָשִׁים מִכֹּל לְשֹׁנוֹת הַגּוֹיִם וְהֶחֱזִיקוּ בִּכְנַף אִישׁ יְהוּדִי לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה עִמָּכֶם כִּי שָׁמַעְנוּ אֱלֹהִים עִמָּכֶם: ס
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
It is difficult to understand how this prophecy will come to be in real time. Exactly how will such a thing happen? It is a tenet of this Website that the Laws of Choshen Mishpat will someday be implemented in The Land of Israel. Over time, they will replace Turkish and English Law. And over time, either our Secular Judges will become proficient in Jewish Studies or the Judicial System will be given over to pious scholars skilled in the Laws of Choshen Mishpat. Additionally, many scholarly articles will be written comparing Jewish Law with Secular Law. Finally, the Nations of the World will see Israel and its Jewish Legal System as the most fit model upon which to structure a fair and just Judicial System.
note: Some essays in comparative law, comparing English or American Law with Jewish Law will appear on this site. Please click here to read Rabbi Reuven Livinstone’s excellent article: “Beyond Reasonable Doubt.”
“Beyond Reasonable Doubt” – pdf
click here for MENACHEM ELON; MISPHAT IVRI
