Sydney Beth Din
| Sydney Beth Din | |
|---|---|
סידני בת דין | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism |
| Website | |
| https://www.bethdin.org.au/contact | |
The Sydney Beth Din (Hebrew: סידני בת דין), occasionally abbreviated to SBD, is a Jewish religious institution headquartered in Sydney, Australia. As part of its functions as a beth din, it processes divorces, conversions to Judaism, answers questions about personal and ritual statuses, and hears disputes between private individuals.[1][2]
History
The beth din was reconstituted in 1905. Prior to that, several attempts had been made to have a beth din established in the city of Sydney; a beth din had already been established in Melbourne in the mid 1860s.[3] Originally, the beth din operated primarily under the authority of the British Chief Rabbi, including appointments of dayanim, but the beth din had control over its appointments by the 1940s.[4]
From 1940 to 1975, Israel Porush served as the head of the court; during his administration, the court maintained religious orthodoxy (albeit with a few compromises); and oversaw the expansion of the court's congregation. In 1956, a war memorial was opened.[5]
In 2019, the beth din was investigated by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies for "defects in the ownership structure, governance, measures of accountability and dispute resolution processes." The beth din responded to the investigation by claiming that JBOD had a history of undermining halachah.[6] In 2021, the final report by JBOD was released, which called for the beth din to be reformed.[7]
Due to the coronavirus pandemic in Australia, the beth din had to suspend synagogue services in Sydney. However, they were later restored.[8]
Notable accomplishments
The beth din was instrumental in granting a divorce to the last known Jewish person in Afghanistan, Zevulun Simantov,[9] and granted the first ordination to a woman rabbi in Sydney.[10]
Current structure
Source:[11]
- Yehoram Ulman - senior dayan
- Moshe Gutnick - senior dayan
- Michael Chriqui - associate dayan
- Ze'ev Litke - associate dayan
References
- ^ Hosen, Nadirsyah (2011). Law and Religion in Public Life: The Contemporary Debate. Taylor & Francis. p. 200. ISBN 9781136725845.
- ^ Porush, Israel (1981). "Beth Din - past, present, and in times to come". The Australian Jewish Times.
- ^ Apple, Raymond (June 1994). "Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society". XII, part 2.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Apple, Raymond (2008). The Great Synagogue: A History of Sydney's Big Shule. UNSW Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780868409276.
- ^ Rutland, Suzanne D., "Israel Porush (1907–1991)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2024-11-26
- ^ Narunsky, Gareth. "Sydney Beth Din to be investigated". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ Newsdesk, J.-Wire (2021-02-03). "A call for reform for the Sydney Beth Din". J-Wire. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Synagogues stop prayer services". The Australian. 2020-03-17.
- ^ Kaltmann, Nomi. "Why a senior Sydney rabbi was chosen to grant Afghanistan's last Jew a divorce". thejewishindependent.com.au. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ Newsdesk, J.-Wire (2020-05-20). "Meet Sydney's first woman to become an orthodox rabbi". J-Wire. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "HOME". Sydney Beth Din. Retrieved 2024-11-26.