THE RABBINICAL COURTS OF OUR GENERATION

The purpose of this chapter is to offer an overview of the variety of rabbinic courts operating today in the Jewish world. This chapter provides two basic forms of classification. The first proposes to distinguish between the official courts in the State of Israel-which have the status of courts on behalf of the state with all that entails-and between "private" courts that operate by virtue of the agreement of the parties only and do not receive state backing. The second proposes to distinguish between courts dealing with family law (in particular divorce cases) and courts dealing solely with civil litigation. This distinction holds special importance in the State of Israel. The chapter focuses on the history of the official rabbinical courts and discusses the characteristics of the various courts. It deals, among other things, with the procedures of the various courts and the issue of their attitude toward the laws of the state.