The Halacha Institute of Toronto, a charitable organization affiliated with the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) has opened a Jewish Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre to help members of the Jewish community resolve their disputes in a halachic framework.

The Halacha Institute of Toronto’s Rabbonim recently graduated from a rigorous training program hosted at a COR certified venue, tailor made for them by renowned alternative dispute resolution training experts the Stitt Feld Handy Group. The Rabbonim are now all certified as mediators with certificates in mediation from the University of Windsor Law School.

Alternative dispute resolution is seen as a powerful tool that helps parties settle their disputes. In fact, the civil court system requires parties to attend mandatory mediation sessions, often multiple times, before arriving at trial. According to some studies, over 80 percent of parties who attend voluntary mediation resolve their disputes instead of proceeding to trial. As such, the Halacha Institute of Toronto (H.I.T.) opened their Jewish Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, getting the Rabbonim professionally trained as mediators, in order to offer their services to anyone wishing to resolve disputes in a halachic framework.

H.I.T’s Jewish Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre is the initiative of H.I.T.’s senior rabbonim and its Chairman Rav Yacov Felder, who is also Rav of Congregation Shomrei Shabbos Chevrah Mishnayos and the Chairman of the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR)’s Rabbinical Vaad Hakashruth. “Like any community, ours has disputes,” said Rav Felder, “but the Jewish way is to employ darkei shalom to settle disputes. What better way to do this than to have Rabbonim who are professionally trained in the art of mediation to help parties resolve their disputes amicably.”

Oliver Martin was one of the instructors from the Stitt Feld Handy Group. “The Rabbis from the Halacha Institute of Toronto were really a pleasure to work with,” said Martin. “They were extremely intelligent, highly engaged, and obviously rich in experience in dealing with the issues that arise with people in their communities. Now that they have had professional training as mediators, I have no doubt that their Jewish Alternate Dispute Resolution Centre will be an extremely valuable resource to the Jewish community.”

The mediation process is different from a typical beis din proceeding because both parties have the ability to accept or reject a resolution and are thus empowered by having input into the ultimate agreed upon solution. The Rabbi/mediator is of course an expert in halacha, but he acts as a facilitator to help the parties reach a settlement.

Mrs. C. participated in a recent mediation with the Halacha Institute of Toronto. “I found the process very fair,” commented Mrs. C. “I felt like the Rabbonim really listened, and helped us get to the root of the problem. They pointed out the relevant halachos and helped guide us to a mutually agreeable solution. If people need it, I would definitely recommend they try mediation through the Halacha Institute of Toronto.”

For more information please visit the Halacha Institute of Toronto’s website at
www.HalachaInstitute.com