64 Friday, April 24, 1981
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Goldstein's Notable 'Jewish Justice and Conciliation'
Dr. Israel Goldstein, who
had the distinction of serv-
ing as president of the
Zionist Organization of
America as well as the
Jewish National Fufid of
America, takes special
pride in having been associ-
ated with the Jewish Con-
ciliation Board which he
headed for 38 years. He re-
lates his experience in that
capacity in "Jewish Justice
and Conciliation: History of
the Jewish Conciliation
Board of America, 1930-
1968" (Ktav).
While this book is a his-
tory of a movement, of a tra-
dition in Jewish experi-
ences, it also represents a
chapter in American Jewish
history. It is as such, as an
evaluation of conciliation
and the Beth Din in Jewish
ethical codes, that this book
should be judged. It is a val-
uable addendum to the his-
tory of American Jewry and
to Jewish ethical and legal
teachings and studies aspir-
ing for justice and human
considerations.
Dr. Goldstein, who con-
cluded his career as a public
servant in volunteer
capacities in behalf of
Zionism and Israel as world
chairman of the Keren
Hayesod, devoted himself,
also in a volunteer capacity,
towards the aims he
ennobled in the conciliation
court. He had enrolled the
participation and support of
many distinguished persons
in efforts to resolve disputes
without permitting them to
go to public courts, and
--- thereby to dispense justice_
with an assurance of just
and human considerations.
The Jewish Concilia-
tion Board functioned
from 1919 until 1968, and
the Goldstein role there-
fore predominated dur-
ing most active 38 years
of the 49-year history of
the conciliating move-
ment.
Thousands of cases were
handled by the court during
those years. Justice was in-
termingled with sympathy,
practical aid was offered,
the breaking up of homes
was averted, disputants
were reconciled, where cit
was possible, and public jud-
icial courts were spared
many trials by the efforts of
the Jewish conciliating
body.
Dr. Goldstein explains in
this 260-page book how the
Jewish court operated, how
it was financed by private
assistance, the manner in
which participants in the
disputes were aided by pro-
fessionals and lay leaders
from many professional and
communal fields.
It is no wonder that the
efforts of Dr. Goldstein and
his associates should have
ISRAEL GOLDSTEIN
received wide acclaim. A
typical example is the com-
mendation that was ex-
pressed for Dr. and Mrs.
Goldstein by Supreme
Court Justice William 0.
Douglas at exercises on Jan.
17,1954, at the Jewish Edu-
cational Alliance in New
York, honoring the 35th
anniversary of the Jewish
court and the 25th anniver-
sary of Dr. Goldstein's
presidency. In an impres-
sive extemporaneous
speech which touches on
many aspects of American
principles of justice, Mr.
Justice Douglas said:
"It is a great inspira-
tion to see ideas of equal-
ity and justice spreading
out over a part of the
world that has known
very little of it in its long,
long history.
"The work of the Concili-
ation Board, seeking to find
what is the truth, trying to
apply justice, is a great ex-
periment in a busy commu-
nity where there are many
problems, local and interna-
tional.
"It is important to take
time out to make adjust-
ments in the little problems
of people. That in the end
marks the differences -be-
tween a society which ad-
ministers to the needs of
people, and a society where
sores and troubles fester,
where the needs and aspira-
tions, of the ordinary man
are neglected."
Uniquely and properly
entitled "The Court With-
out a Gavel," Dr. Golds-
tein's historic record re-
views the practices that
marked Jewish juridicial
autonomy in the Diaspora,
the history of Jewish courts
in Israel, Babylonia (Iraq),
Italy, Spain, Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Switzer-
land, France, and Nether-
lands, England, Poland,
Lithuania, Russia, Moslem
countries and others in
Eastern Europe.
The explanatory intro-
duction by Dr. Goldstein
touches upon many judi-
cial aspects. Especially
interesting, exemplary of
his approach to the basic
problems of justice, is
this portion of Dr. Golds-
tein's introduction:
"It is interesting to note
that, although both capital
punishment and flogging
had been formally sus-
pended in Judea just prior to
or immediately following
the destruction of the Tem-
ple, particularly outside of
Eretz Yisrael, both were
still widely practiced in
later times, 'when it was
necessary,' to punish 'in-
formers.'
"For example, Spanish
Jews were permitted by the
authorities to inflict capital
punishment almost until
the period of the expulsion
from Spain in 1492, and cer-
tain East European com-
munities retained this right
even after that date. Flog-
ging, too, was frequently in-
flicted, usually in the
presence of the members of
the community, as a means
of discouraging others from
committing similar of-
fenses.
"There were also many
other forms of punishment,
such as the levying of fines
or the foreclosure of a de-
btor's property. In addition,
there were provisions for
several forms of corporal
punishment, including even
the severing of hands, nose,
or tongue. These severe
penalties were, however,
rarely enforced.
"Certain communities
maintained their own pris-
ons, supervised by Jewish
wardens, although in ear-
lier times sentence of im-
prisonment had been im-
posed only rarely by Jews.
"In addition to impris-
onment, the Batei Din de-
creed several other
penalties which had been
unknown or rarely used
by Jews prior to that
time. The most common
— and in some ways the
most harsh — was
herem, excommunica-
tion. A degree of herem
meant the virtual expul-
sion of the person upon
whom it was inflicted,
and sometimes his family
also, from the religious
and social life of the
community.
"In-the closed society of an
earlier era, the conse-
quences of herem were so
severe that many Rabbinic
authorities permitted its
use only in the most serious
cases, while some govern-
ments actually prohibited
resort to herem by the
Jewish community.
"Another severe penalty
was exile from one's city, or
even from one's country of
origin.
"There were two other
forms of sanction which
utilized the closed nature of for enforcing obedience of
Jewish society. One, ikkuv the ban or compliance with
tefilla, permitted an un- its decisions in other re-
satisfied plaintiff to delay spects. It could only
the reading of prayers or of threaten the recalcitrant
the weekly Torah portion, party with herem (excom-
as a means of forcing the de- munication) which, because
fendant to appear in court. of its harsh character, was
"A similar form of coer- not often put into effect.
"It is true that, accord-
cion, utilized for the same
purpose, was mentioned ing to the author's ac-
only in the Palestinian count, Jewish courts
Talmud and was unknown were in some places em-
in Spain. It was, however, powered by the political
often utilized in medieval authority to impose on
Germany and France, and criminal offenders sen-
later in various European tences of imprisonment,
countries, including 17th flogging and even capital
punishment; but it is not
Century Germany.
"This coercive measure clear to what extent such
appears to have been often sanctions were applied (I
misused, and its utilization am myself highly doubt-
was therefore restricted by ful if the last of these
many rabbinic authorities, penalties was ever im-
including Rabenu Tam at posed or, at any rate, im-
the Council of Troyes (1150 plemented).
"It would, I think be a fair
CE).
"Generally, the enforce- inference from the author's
ment of various penalties account that the Jewish
was left to the Beth Din or to courts functioned by virtue
the community leaders. In of their religious and moral
certain cases, however, par- authority and because of the
ticularly where capital freely-given consent of the
punishment was involved, disputants to adhere to the
the gentile authorities re- Jewish legal system.
"One should add to this
served the right to confirm
and execute the judgment." the contributing factor of
the wisdom and ingenuity
with which the talmudic
sages and the great rabbinic
commentators and codifiers
of later generations de-
veloped the halakhic prin-
ciples so that they might
conform to the changing
needs of Jewish Diaspora
society and thus ensure
their vitality within it.
"It is noticeable in this
monograph that the author
has not raised the question
as to whether, when cir-
cumstances required,
Jewish courts or jurists
WILLIAM DOUGLAS
allowed elements of alien
There is a highly schol- origin to penetrate the
arly review of the Jewish Jewish legal system. My
judicial system and au- surmise is that this was by
tonomous courts re- design and that one person
ferred to as the Beth Din for the omission was that,
by the retired president given the wide ambit of this
of the Israel Supreme survey of Jewish juridicial
Court, Dr. Shimon Ag- autonomy, it would be going
ranat. Here is a portion of too far afield to pursue this
interesting and broad topic,
that scholarly preface:
"I think, however, that particularly since it has al-
the more important factor ready exercised other schol-
which gave impetus to the ars.
cementing of Jewish juridi-
"For example, in Chap-
cial autonomy (I have in ter V of his book, 'Exclu-
mind here particularly the siveness and Tolerance'
period of the Middle Ages, (1961), Prof. Jacob Katz
when political emancipa- — discussing Jewish
tion had not yet reached the juridicial autonomy in
Jews) was the internal the Middle Ages — ex-
Jewish one. I mean by this presses the conclusion
the willingness of the that 'in theory the Jewish
Jewish disputants, with a legal system was re-
few exceptions, to seek the garded as self-sufficient,
aid of their own courts of but in practice the
law and courts of arbitra- Jewish courts and jurists
tion rather than accept an (i.e. the halakhists) did
alien jurisdiction, a fact not entirely disregard
which is also indicated by legal ruling and
enactments emanating
the author.
"No doubt they were from non-Jewish
influenced by the religious sources.'
"The omission of this
ban on the appeal by Jewish
litigants to the gentile topic in no way detracts
courts, which could only be from the author's mono-
relaxed if the other Jewish graph on that phase of
party refused to appear be- Jewish history. Nor would I
fore the Beth Din or abide have mentioned it at all, but
by its decree.
for my desire to accentuate
"It is evident, however, the principal aim which he
that apart from the moral envisaged would be
influence of this prohibi- achieved by his review. This
tion, the Jewish court had was to paint a broad canvas
no sanctions at its disposal portraying to the reader the
very prevalence, to a
greater or lesser extent as
the case may have been, of
Jewish juridical autonomy
over nearly two millennia
and in almost every country
or region where an or-
ganized or semi-organized
Jewish community existed.
"This object has indeed
been accomplished and, to
my mind, in an admirable
and exhaustive fashion. The
tireless and extensive re-
search work involved is ap-
parent from the copiou
footnote references to tilt
supporting sources.
"To my mind, the histori-
cal value of the author's
finished product lies in the
fact that it serves to rein-
force, and give added justifi-
cation to, the well-known
inference that the continu-
ous and widespread persis-
tence of that remarkable
and unique phenomenon —
Jewish juridical autonomy
---- has played a major part
in preserving the separate
existence and identity of the
Jewish people as a religio-
national entity.
"It will, I hope, not be
thought extraneous if, at
the end of these remarks,
I note Dr. Goldstein's ex-
planation of why this
comprehensive historical
narrative — a self-
contained monograph
which could easily ap-
pear as a separate book
— come to form Part I of
the present volume.
"His reason, we are told,
was that it may serve as
background to the chapter
of Jewish social history
which constitutes Part II. In
this, I think, he was right.
Clearly, in functioning dur-
ing close to half-a-century
as a voluntary tribunal for
the resolution and pacific
settlement of the internal
conflicts which arose among
members of the largest
Jewish community in the
United States, the Jewish
Conciliation Board
epitomized in a sense the
whole idea of Jewish juridi-
cal autonomy and worked
within the spirit of Jewish
tradition."
Specific cases are cited by
Dr. Goldstein to explain the
workability of the court
over which he presided with
great distinction.
Dr. Goldstein's explanat-
ory volume, "Jewish Justice
and Conciliation," is a mas-
terful account of a great
idea. It is an enrichment of
Jewish judicial studies and
a valuable chapter of
American Jewish accom-
plishments.
SHIMON AGRANAT