Former Supreme Court Justice Reflects on Navigating Halakha and Human Justice
Former Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak is revisiting some of the most sensitive cases of his public service career, focusing on the intersection of Jewish law (Halakha) and the secular legal system in Israel. In a podcast interview with Rabbi Professor Yitzhak Cohen, Barak discussed his approach to complex issues such as the agunah (chained woman) from Safed, efforts to reduce cases of mamzerut (illegitimacy), the annulment of conversions, and the "heter mechira" (sale of land) during the Sabbatical year.
Barak emphasized his guiding principle: "not only to do justice, but also to do righteousness." He explained that while respecting the world of Halakha and rabbinical courts, he sought humane and practical solutions. He recalled the sentiment that a judge's role is to resolve situations for people, and that even a seemingly small case for an individual can be as significant as a major constitutional issue, as "their case is their whole world."
He detailed the case of the agunah from Safed, where the Supreme Court did not intervene in the halakhic debate itself but ruled against reopening a finalized divorce decree years later, citing procedural grounds and the potential human tragedy of invalidating the woman's remarriage and her children's status. Barak also described his work as Attorney General to establish a mechanism for handling mamzerut cases, aiming to prevent children from bearing this heavy halakhic status unnecessarily.
Barak criticized the possibility of annulling conversions after many years, especially if the individual has lived as a Jew, arguing such a measure should be reserved for rare cases of fraud. He stressed that his interventions were not confrontational but aimed at bridging the secular and religious legal systems, focusing on issues of authority, natural justice, and procedural fairness rather than halakhic rulings.
Reflecting on the "heter mechira" during the Sabbatical year, Barak clarified that the Supreme Court's ruling addressed administrative law, the abrupt change of a long-standing policy without proper discussion, rather than the halakhic validity of the sale itself. He concluded by highlighting the importance of humility for all authorities and the ultimate goal of achieving justice within the bounds of the law, even when dealing with complex human predicaments.
