Rishon L’Tzion HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef Shlita on Sunday evening addressed dayanim serving in the Chief Rabbinate Rabbinical Courts, instructing them to rule as they feel they should without fear of the justices serving on the High Court of Justice.

Addressing the assembly in Kibbutz Lavi, Rav Yosef said, “Don’t be scared of the High Court. Do not let your rulings be influenced by fear of appeal to the High Court which knows no boundaries”.

In addition, Rav Yosef called on new dayanim to consult with retired dayanim if the need arises. At the same time, the rabbi rejected the phenomenon that has recently emerged when lawyers or litigants combine judgments and opinions of former dayanim.

The Chief Rabbi warned of the phenomenon of external, non-Rabbanut batei din, and denied the use to cancel marriages without foundation.

The rav added, “הוו מתונים בדין”, and added “the Chachamim have warned be careful with your words and that we are all compelled to listen to both sides, and to think and investigate and look closely into matters; but on the other hand, we must not delay the ruling too much. In complex and complicated cases, a case takes more than a year, and this is ‘Inui Din’, torture”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)