Crown Heights Beis Din
The Beis Din Tzedek of Crown Heights (known as the Crown Heights Badatz) is the official and permanent beis din of the Crown Heights neighborhood. The beis din was established in 5746, whereas previously there was a single rav who, when needing a beis din, would add two non-permanent rabbonim.
The beis din maintains a kashrus system known as "CHK" (Crown Heights Kosher), operated by two members of the Badatz: Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba and Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun. The kashrus system manager is Rabbi DovBer Leverton.
The beis din offices are located in the center of the neighborhood on Kingston Avenue, between Crown and Montgomery Streets.
HistoryEdit
In the early years of the formation of the Chabad community in Crown Heights, the number of community members did not justify establishing a beis din tzedek, and the unofficial rav of Chabad chassidim to whom they turned with halachic questions was Rabbi Shmuel Levitin. During the twenty years that passed since the Frierdiker Rebbe settled in the neighborhood, many Chabad chassidim settled there and it developed rapidly until in 5724 the community numbered several hundred families, and the need for rabbonim moreh horaah grew increasingly.
At this stage, Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dvorkin was invited to serve as moreh tzedek alongside Rabbi Levitin and Rabbi Eliyahu Yeichil Simpson, and with the passing of the latter two, his status was established as Mara D'asra of the Crown Heights neighborhood.
Elections of 5745Edit
About a year after the passing of Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dvorkin on 19th of Adar 5745, the members of the Va'ad Hakahal in Crown Heights requested from the Rebbe to appoint a new rav. The Rebbe's response was "This naturally belongs to the decision of the Jewish residents of the neighborhood, may they live." Following this, they established in the neighborhood an election committee called the "Representatives Organization," to which one representative from each shul in the neighborhood was sent to the committee, and Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind was appointed as its head.
While the Representatives Committee was preparing for elections, members of Agudas Chassidei Chabad decided to appoint a rav chosen by them and wrote about this to the Rebbe. The response was: "There were many meetings about this - with representatives of many shuls of the neighborhood and its institutions, and what is this sudden Agudas Chassidei Chabad world organization??" After such a clear response from the Rebbe and another sharp response, this interference attempt was dropped, and indeed on 1st of Nissan 5746 the Representatives Committee published the election details with the candidates being: Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba, Rabbi Mordechai Dov Altein, Rabbi Dovid Chanzin, Rabbi Sholom Marozov, and Rabbi Yehuda Kalman Marlow.
On 4th of Nissan the elections were held in the women's section of 770 and 90% of the neighborhood residents came and chose three rabbonim: Rabbi Dovid Chanzin, Rabbi Yehuda Kalman Marlow and Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba.
The Rebbe's ReferencesEdit
After the appointment of the rabbonim, it was decided to hold more elections to replace the Va'ad Hakahal members who strongly opposed the election of the rabbonim and continuously tried to interfere with this process. When the Va'ad Hakahal members saw this, they began opposing the elections while recruiting Agudas Chassidei Chabad who published a letter of opposition writing that elections in Chabad were an innovation that had never existed before.
The Rebbe addressed this at length and sharply: "There are those who decided, for whatever reason, that they are the owners of this neighborhood, and they are the ones who need to rule and control the entire community. For example: when they need to choose a rav for the neighborhood – he together with his friends, they are the ones who will determine and decide who is suitable to serve as rav, and they will appoint him as rav. Such a thing has never been heard of in Israel – that an 'askan' or several 'askanim' would decide on their own about choosing a rav. And how much more so when that 'askan' openly declares – that if they choose his candidate for rav, then he will give money etc., and if not, he won't give... and through this he wants to force his opinion on the entire community – there is no greater bribery than this!"
Attempt to Create a Committee to Bypass the Neighborhood RabbonimEdit
At the beginning of Cheshvan 5750, several of the dispute-makers arose again and decided to return to fighting against the rabbonim. Their claim was that the Rebbe supposedly was not satisfied with the neighborhood rabbonim, and therefore other rabbonim should be chosen under whom would be the shluchim and Lubavitch institutions and they would be like "Chief Rabbi" of Chabad.
For this purpose, they sought to publish an advertisement in the Algemeiner Journal about establishing the committee that would be the authority in all Chabad matters. The newspaper's editor Rabbi Gershon Ber Jacobson was hesitant to publish the advertisement and therefore submitted it to the Rebbe for approval. The Rebbe's response was: "Obviously I am satisfied with the Va'ad HaRabbonim of the neighborhood shlita and may they have length of days and years in their position. Obviously there is no Chief Rabbi in Chabad (not in the neighborhood and not in the world) and there never was one."
The Elections of 5763 and 5770Edit
In 5760, Rabbi Marlow passed away, and that year Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Schwei (who served as a Rosh Mesivta in the Lubavitcher Yeshiva) was appointed as Moreh Tzedek by the Beis Din. Three years later in 5763, a democratic election was held for the position of third rav in the Beis Din in which Rabbi Schwei ran unopposed and won a technical victory.
Approach to the Rebbe's TitlesEdit
On Motzei Shavuos 5755, the members of the Beis Din held an official reception for rabbonim from around the world who came to the Rebbe for Shavuos. Due to the sensitive situation that developed after Gimmel Tammuz 5754 and the confusion among some chassidim about how to refer to the Rebbe's titles, the Av Beis Din Rabbi Marlow, together with the visiting rabbonim, issued a call to all Chabad chassidim establishing that one should not write the abbreviations "zatsal," etc. about the Rebbe and also not the title "shlita," only "Melech HaMoshiach."
Conduct of Chabad Internet SitesEdit
On 13th of Teves 5770, the Beis Din issued a call to Chabad internet sites, with detailed instructions about how a Chabad website should be conducted, and a direct instruction to prohibit publishing articles that arouse disputes and articles that violate the rules of tznius, and an announcement about closing the comments systems on the sites.
Earlier Marriage AgeEdit
In Shevat 5772, the Beis Din initiated a joint call from all rabbonim and mashpi'im of Anash to move up the customary marriage age in Chabad, and to allow social legitimacy for bochurim to marry during their "Kvutza" year and immediately after. The call was based on the Rebbe's letters instructing to advance the marriage age and not to delay the wedding in order to continue learning.
Current Members of the Beis Din RabbonimEdit
- Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba
- Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun
Dayanim and Morei TzedekEdit
- Rabbi Yitzchok Raitport
- Rabbi Nissan Mangel
- Rabbi Tuvia Kasimov
Beis Din SecretaryEdit
- Rabbi Shmuel Kraus
Beis Din AssistantsEdit
- Rabbi Sholom DovBer Shapiro
- Rabbi Levi Stalik
Former Members of the Beis DinEdit
- Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Schwei
- Rabbi Yosef Avrohom Heller
- Rabbi Yehuda Kalman Marlow
The rabbonim of the Badatz are chosen by the community in elections as per the Rebbe's instruction.
See AlsoEdit
- CHK (Kashrus)
- Chabad Rabbinical Court in Eretz HaKodesh
- Machon Halacha Chabad