Lander College for Men Holds First-of-its-Kind Model Beis Din Competition

“The Model Beis Din was an exciting and creative way of demonstrating the dynamic nature of Halacha—how the Torah can inform and confront moral and legal challenges in the most sophisticated way,” said Rabbi Yonason Sacks, esteemed Rosh HaYeshiva of the Beis Medrash L’Talmud. “I was quite impressed with the students’ presentations and am confident that they found this forum to be a most enriching experience.”

The innovative competition centered around “The Case of the Poisoned Sandwich,” a well-known but unconfirmed story in which a bullied high school student put a poisonous substance in his lunch, knowing full-well that it would be stolen by his tormentor. Even if the accuracy of the story is in doubt, the case introduced a controversial halachic dilemma about an individual’s right to self-defense in such a scenario, which motivated the students to not only delve into the facts of the case, but the halachic ramifications as well. 

At the start of the program, each team presented their arguments, either defending or condemning the actions of the bullied student, to three “judges” from the Beis Medrash L’Talmud—Rabbi Chaim Kirschenbaum, Rabbi Ephraim Tanenbaum and Rabbi Sacks. To simulate the case, members of the teams played the parts of the victim-turned-aggressor, who explained why he was permitted to poison the sandwich under Jewish law, and the bully. After a representative delivered a concluding statement with what his squad believed to be the correct halacha, the judges questioned the team members about how they arrived at their psak.

Because the matter is subject to debate amongst the poskim, the finalists were chosen based on the quality of the presentations and their mastery of the different opinions and Talmudic sources as related to this case, and based on how well they supported their conclusions. The final round was in a debate format—including opening statements, rebuttals and closing arguments—with a coin flip deciding which position each team would take.

The teams offered varying opinions with regard to the guilt or innocence of the offending student. Some argued that the poisoning was warranted as a way to teach the bully the error of his ways or that the intent was not to do harm as he presented the antidote as soon as the bully took ill, according to the account of story. Others argued that his actions were reckless because he had no way of knowing if he would be with the bully at the time and able to give him the antidote.

“What was fascinating was that there was such a mix of opinions,” said LCM Coordinator of Admissions and Community Programming Rabbi Josh Sturm, one of the organizers of the Model Beis Din. “The level of scholarship on display was amazing and everyone was extremely well prepared. What’s more, before the final round the teams had just a few minutes to organize their arguments and then they were off and running.”

TABC and Rambam Mesivta were awarded plaques and the recently published Dirshu editions of the Mishnah Berurah. Every participant four teams received all seven volumes of Rabbi Sacks’ commentary on Pirkei Avos. Over the course of the day Dr. Sokol spoke about the synthesis of Halacha and everyday life, Rabbi Sacks discussed Kiddush Hashem and its relation to the Jewish legal system and Prof. David J. Kirschner, a professor of business at LCM and a practicing attorney, talked about the distinctions between the Jewish and secular approaches to law.

“Halacha addresses the most surprising corners of human life. These students rose to the challenge and applied their learning and ingenuity to a disturbing case study,” said Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of LCM. “They and their rebbeim are to be congratulated.”