Israel Dayanut Exam case studies
Israel Dayanut Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Dayanut is the rabbinic qualification that authorizes a scholar to sit as a judge (dayan) on a beit din, most consequentially in matters of marriage and divorce, monetary disputes, and personal status. The Israeli Dayanut examination is the assessment route used within Israel's rabbinical framework for candidates who already hold rabbinic ordination and now seek certification to adjudicate. The Israel Dayanut Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 3,189 words.
1The Delayed Get and the Conditional Kiddushin
A couple married fifteen years ago in a ceremony where the groom, before the chuppah, privately told two valid witnesses: 'Behold you are betrothed to me with this ring on condition that I will give you a valid get within ten years of our marriage; if I do not, the kiddushin is retroactively void.' The witnesses signed nothing and the condition was never written into the ketubah. The husband now refuses to give a get and has lived apart from his wife for twelve years.
745 words, about 4 min2The Silent Partner and the Missing Inventory
Two brothers-in-law formed a partnership (shutfut) to import olive oil. They agreed orally that each would contribute 50,000 shekels and share profits equally, but no written agreement was drawn.
629 words, about 3 min3The Contradictory Witnesses and the Loan Document
A lender sues a borrower for 100,000 shekels based on a loan document (shtar halva'ah) signed by two witnesses. The borrower admits signing but claims the loan was repaid and that the document was never marked as paid (no shibud/cancellation).
601 words, about 3 min4The Pot That Was Not Kashered
A family kashered its kitchen for Pesach. The metal pot used for boiling water was immersed in a larger pot of boiling water (hag'alah) after thorough cleaning, and the family was told by a local supervisor that this was sufficient.
596 words, about 3 min5The Convert's Status and the Question of Mamzerut
A woman converted to Judaism through a recognized beit din, married a Jewish man, and bore a son. Ten years later, the beit din that converted her is discovered to have acted irregularly: it did not properly verify her acceptance of mitzvot, and one of the three judges was not qualified.
618 words, about 3 min