Mishpat HaShulchan Is the Hope of the Yeshiva World

Rabbi Ido Rechnitz responds to Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein’s remarks about “the tragedy of Choshen Mishpat,” arguing that the world of monetary law is דווקא developing, but needs a deeper connection between yeshivas and real life. "I heard with sadness the words of my teacher, Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, about what he called 'the tragedy of Choshen Mishpat.' The essence of his argument is that monetary law has become impractical, because rulings of rabbinical courts cannot be enforced. The result is that the study of Nezikin in the Gemara and part of Choshen Mishpat in the Shulchan Aruch have become purely theoretical.

"First, I want to set the record straight, a ruling by a monetary court can be enforced through the Execution Office, after both sides to the dispute sign an arbitration agreement. In practice, there are dozens of monetary courts operating in Israel that deal with disputes ranging from hundreds of shekels to hundreds of millions of shekels. It is true that since emancipation in Europe and the abolition of communal enforcement authority, it has not been possible to force a defendant to agree to a hearing in a Torah court. This naturally led to a decline in the number of cases brought before the courts. That decline created a gap between Torah literature and the world of practice. This gap allowed the yeshiva world to close itself off in the study hall and deal with monetary law in theoretical terms, without being attentive to the questions raised by reality. The gap widened rapidly because of the technological, economic and social changes that took place over the past 200 years.

"At the same time, alongside the yeshiva world, extensive Torah and scholarly literature on monetary law developed, such as at the Institute of Jewish Monetary Law, where I work. However, for the most part, it remained outside the yeshiva study halls. Perhaps the reason is concern about grappling with reality, especially the legal reality that has developed. I once heard from a yeshiva head that he refrains from teaching the issue of 'dina de-malkhuta' in his yeshiva, out of concern that the study would raise questions he would have difficulty answering.

"The price of the gap is heavy. As Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein said, without questions raised by reality, creativity suffers greatly. Indeed, in most yeshivas, study of Nezikin consists of repetition of the lectures of the yeshiva heads, almost without significant innovation. The cost is high, because one would have expected the yeshivas to be the crucible of Torah creativity, a basis for the rulings of the courts, but that is not happening.

"Against the backdrop of this painful situation, several new and encouraging trends should be noted. The first is the major development of monetary courts in recent years. I can testify firsthand to the impressive process taking place in the Eretz Hemdah Gazit network of courts, which includes dozens of judges throughout the country. The network is careful to issue reasoned rulings and publish them on its website. In this way, a database of hundreds of rulings is being built, proving that Torah is capable of answering the most modern questions in the field of monetary law. In addition, the network has adopted a series of fundamental policy decisions, building a new level in the world of Torah.

"Moreover, even within the yeshiva world there are sprouts of study that turn to life, listen to the questions that life raises, and respond to them through deep Torah analysis. In this context, it is fitting to mention the classes of Rabbi Eliyahu Blumentzvig, former head of the Yeruham Yeshiva, the book series of Rabbi R.A.M. HaCohen, both graduates of Yeshivat Har Etzion, the classes and books of Rabbi Asher Weiss, and many others. From personal experience, I can say that listening to the questions raised by life opens one’s eyes to parts and layers of Torah that have been hidden from learners in recent years.

"For example, I asked myself how to reconcile the Gemara in tractate Sanhedrin, which says that compromise brings peace, with the reality in the court, where imposed compromise does not bring peace. This question compelled me to study the sugya anew and to discover a fresh understanding of the essence of compromise, already written about by the great sages of Israel (see an article on the website of the Institute of Jewish Monetary Law).

"In the same way, I struggled to understand the Gemara in tractate Bava Batra, which says that relatives are disqualified from giving testimony by decree of Scripture, apparently without reason. This is difficult in light of the fact that in most Western countries, relatives are disqualified to one degree or another from testifying. That question led me to revisit the sugya and arrive at wonderful and gratifying findings.

"In my humble opinion, breaking down the wall between yeshiva study and life is our great hope. It will allow Torah to emerge from the confinement in which it is trapped and flourish again, and it will allow it to illuminate life and serve as a beacon of righteousness and justice."

Rabbi Ido Rechnitz is a judge in the Eretz Hemdah Gazit network and research director at the Institute of Jewish Monetary Law.