Moser (Reporting a Crime to the Police)
When is it correct to seek police or governmental intervention when someone sins? Must pedophiles, for example, be dealt with entirely within the Jewish community? Can you or should you turn to the police and secular authorities to deal with a specific problem? Join Rabbi Dovid Fink as he explores what halacha says about reporting a crime to the authorities.
Moser (Reporting a Crime to the Police): Moser (Reporting a Crime to the Police)
In pre-modern times, Jews lived in countries where the rule of law was weak. Jews accused of financial or other crimes faced the threat of torture and even death at the hands of the non-Jewish rulers.
In those days, rabbis prohibited moser (informing Gentile authorities against Jews).
In this series we will survey the sources and underlying concepts governing moserim and examine whether the principles apply in modern states and in Israel today.
In short, is it proper to report crimes like sexual abuse or counterfeiting to gentile authorities? Or must such cases be handled entirely within the Jewish community?
Hebrew source materials are available through the link. In class we will translate and explain these sources.
In addition to being one of Rabbi Brovender's first students, Rabbi Dovid Fink is an outstanding expertﾠand teacher of Halacha. Rabbi Fink received his Rabbinic ordination from ITRI and the Mir and was awarded his Ph.D in Semitic Languages and Linguistics from Yale University. Rav Fink has taught thousands of students from all over the world for over 35 years.