The Jewish System of Justice

The Torah commands us to create a judicial system of judges and police. The Gemara, the embodiment of the Oral Law, teaches that conviction in a criminal case requires the testimony of two witnesses who say that they both warned the criminal before the crime was committed and that they saw the criminal act. It would seem that if our judicial system would be administered on the basis of Talmudic law very few criminals would ever be punished.

One of the great Rishonim, Rabbeinu Nissim of Gerona was bothered by this. In one of his sermons, he presented a remarkable idea. He taught that in Jewish law there are two systems of justice. One system is “ideal” and follows the Gemara. The second system is “pragmatic” and allows for other means of obtaining a conviction. Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as he explores the idea of Rabbeinu Nissim.