Yosef Karo

“ A judge is prohibited from acting with haughtiness and as a superior on the public. Rather, he should act with humility and fear. Any activist who places extra fear on the public not for the sake of heaven will never see his child become a scholar. He is similarly prohibited from treating them with frivolity even if they are ignoramuses. He may not step on the heads of a holy nation. He must assume the pressures and burden of the public. It is incumbent on the public to treat the judge with respect and to have his fear on them. ”

“ Paragraph 1- Anyone who knows testimony that another has a use for, and is fit to testify, is obligated to testify if he is called to testify in court. This is true whether he is solo or has another witness with him. If he withholds his testimony, he is exempt from judgement by man but is liable by the laws of the heavens. A solo witness should only testify on monetary matters where he may require an oath or for a matter of prohibition where he is causing someone to separate from the prohibition. ”

“ A leader who lengthens the prayer so that people will hear his pleasant voice: if it was because of the joy in his heart that he gives thanks to God, may He be praised, in pleasantness, a blessing shall come upon him. And this is the one who would pray with weighty intention and stands in dread and fear, but if he intends to make his voice heard and rejoice in his voice, behold this is detestable. And in any case, anyone who lengthens his prayer does something that is not good because of burdening the congregation. ”

“ Act with Your children using the trait of mercy. Deal with them more leniently than the letter of the law. In Your great goodness, have mercy on us, as every disaster that comes to the world comes for the sake of Israel, who is Your nation and inheritance that You took out of Egypt. ”

“ Paragraph 1 - If a city was once the property of an individual, even if it becomes the property of many, everyone can make one partnership and carry within the whole municipality. Similarly, if it belongs to many but it only has one entrance, everyone can make one partnership. However, if it belongs to many and has two entrances in which the nation enters and exits, even if it becomes the property of an individual, everyone cannot make an eruv. Rather, one space must be left, even one house with one house inside, the rest can make a partnership. ”

“ But if a non-Jew takes a break, the Jew needs to be there, because it is like the case of the non-Jew's house. And even a Jewish child will suffice, because the non-Jew appears before him. In any case, if a Jew is not present until after he has finished milking, this milk is considered the milk of non-Jews that is forbidden, even thought no non-kosher animal exists in his herd. Milk of a non-Jew makes vessels non-kosher when they are cooked in them, just as any prohibited food, even though this is only an uncertainty whether he has mixed in something non-kosher. ”

“ There are those who say that every place a person goes for commerce, or to see a friend, it is considered the same as traveling for a matter of a mitzvah, but it is not considered for personal concerns except when he goes out for a stroll. Therefore it is the custom in a few places to be lenient regarding travelling by ship and going out on a caravan within three days because everything is considered like traveling for the sake of a mitzvah, and we do not object to this since there is one upon whom they can rely. ”

“ Paragraph 3- When the purity of a families lineage has been disputed, which means two people testify that there was i a mamzer or a challal intermingled with them or that they have slaves in their lineage, behold this is a doubtful family. If it is a family of priests no one may marry a women from them until they will check about her up through four generations, totaling eight people: her mother, her maternal grandmother, the mother of her maternal grandfather, the maternal grandmother of her maternal grandfather. ”

“ Paragraph 1 — Every man is obligated to marry a woman in order to be fruitful and to multiply. Anyone who does not engage in procreation is as if he murdered, and detracts from the Divine image , and causes the divine presence to depart from Israel. Rem"a: He who has no wife is without blessing, without Torah etc. and he is not called a man. Once he marries a woman, his sins are crumbled, as the verse states: "One who has found a wife has found goodness and obtains favor in the eyes of God." ”

“ Scholars should greet as if they are abandoned and excommunicated by God. If a non-scholar greets a scholar, he should respond with low speech and seriousness. Scholars alone continue to fast Monday, Thursday, and Monday until the spring equinox. They are permitted to eat at night, work, and do other things. They stop fasting for the beginning of each month, Hanukah, and Purim. After the spring equinox, when the sun reaches the beginning of the Taurus constellation, they do not fast more, because rain in that season would be a curse, given that there had not been any rain that year. ”

“ If it is clear to the judge that the defendant is liable, he must find him liable if the judge is an expert and unique in his generation. Using this method, a judge can tell the defendant that he will not grant him time to bring support to his case until he provides a deposit as security because a judge only needs to concern himself with what he can see. A judge can even force a party to swear in a situation where is not obligated to do so by law, if it is done to discover the truth. ”

“ Paragraph 1 - Someone wandering in the desert who does not know when Shabbat is should count seven days from the time he realized that he did not know the day of the week, and on the seventh day he should do kiddush and havdala. If he has something with which to sustain himself, it is forbidden for him to do any work at all until he finishes what he has, at which point he should do work every day, even on the day that he sanctifies [the Shabbat] , in order to preserve his limited sustenance. He is permitted to walk every day, even on the day that he sanctifies. ”

“ A person is disqualified from any testimony in which he gains some kind of benefit by testifying. Therefore, if two people are partners in land and a third party attempts to remove the land from one of the partners by claiming that the individual who sold the land to them had originally stolen it from him, the other partner may not testify on behalf of his partner to disqualify the plaintiff’s witnesses. His testimony would not even help for his partner’s portion unless he removed himself from the field and they made a kinyan to give his portion to this partner. ”

“ Paragraph 1- A judge must be exceedingly careful not to accept a bribe, even if it is to find for the meritorious party. If the judge has taken the bribe he must return it when the giver claims it from him. Just as the one who accepts the bribe violates a negative commandment, so too has the giver violated “lifeni iver lo siten michshol.” This does not only apply to a monetary bribe, but a verbal bribe as well. Any judge who has borrowed an item is disqualified from judging the lender. ”

“ Sweeping the house, rinsing glasses and making the bed – they do not fall into the category of work for a mourner. And so too, it is permissible for a woman to bake and cook during the days of her mourning (what she needs, but what she does not need, is forbidden) . And so too a woman serves in the house of another head of household, and her mourning is taking place, she is permitted to bake and cook and to provide for all the other needs of the household whether she serves free of charge or for a wage. ”

“ Paragraph 3 - If someone from the market [that is, someone who didn't normally live in the yard] who has a house in the yard dies and gives his property to a resident of the yard, if he died during the day [on Friday] , the inheritor does not render the others forbidden as the eruv he makes on his house permits also that which he inherits. If he dies after it gets dark, [the inheritor] does render the others forbidden; even though the inheritor made an eruv with them, it does not function for that which he inherited afterwards on Shabbat. ”

“ Paragraph 9- If one tells a woman, “marry me with this cup,” and the cup was full of water, she would be married with the cup and what is inside because they combine to be a perutah-worth. If it was full of wine she would be married with the cup but not with what is inside. If it was full of oil, she would be married with what is inside and not with the cup. Thus, if the oil was not worth a perutah, the marriage would be uncertain, and if the oil was worth a perutah, the marriage would be certain. ”

“ Paragraph 4- If one party wants to disqualify the judge his adversary selected through a claim that the judge is a thief or has a familial disqualification, we do not pay attention to his claim, even if he has a witness supporting it. ”

“ Paragraph 2 - Even a house of channels is only allowed to be watered when there is not excessive labor involved, like when there is a spring, whether newly-emerged or old, that one can just extend and water the field. However, one should not draw water and irrigate from a pool or from gathered rainwater, because it involves much labor. Even if there is one garden bed, half high and half low, we do not draw water from the low one to water the high one. ”

“ Paragraph 1- One who accepts a relative or disqualified individual to be a judge or witness- acceptance means they accepted to be judged; handing the money over to a third party to judge is not called acceptance- like two valid witnesses or three expert judges, even if he is disqualified due to sin, whether the party accepted to forfeit his rights and forgive what his counterparty was claiming based on their words or he accepted that he will give his adversary whatever he is claiming on the basis of this disqualified person’s testimony or ruling, if they made a kinyan, he cannot retract. ”

“ Paragraph 1- A judge must be patient in judgement. He should not rule until he puts time into it and gives and takes on the matter. The ruling should be clear as day to him. One who is haughty in judgment and hastily rules a case before he investigates the case properly so that it is clear as day, is a fool, wicked and haughty. ”

“ Paragraph 25- One is permitted to marry his brother’s son’s wife and his sister’s son’s wife. One is permitted to marry his brother’s daughter and his sister’s daughter, and there is a mitzvah to do so, as discussed above in Siman 2.
Paragraph 26- One’s wife’s sister is biblically prohibited to him so long as his wife is alive, regardless of whether she is a paternal or maternal sister, even if he divorced his wife. After his wife dies, however, he is permitted to marry her sister. If a person grants a divorce, even because of a mere rumor, he becomes prohibited to the woman’s relatives. ”

“ Any judge who does not judge honestly causes the shechina to be removed from the Jewish people. Any judge who takes money from one and gives it to another against the law will have God collect the souls from him. Any judge that judges truthfully, even for a mere moment, causes the shechina to rest on the Jewish people. ”

“ Similarly a Jewish craftsman is forbidden to make them for others, whether it is for money or if it is for free (Terumat Ha-deshen, Beit Yosef) , [nevertheless] the custom has become to be lenient with this, but if it is known and publicized that the work is for a non Jew, it is permitted (Terumat Ha-deshen) . Similarly the custom has become to give non-jewish craftsmen new items to alter during this time, inorder that they be ready after the fast, however it is good to minimise this activity where possible, as this is not prefreable from other forms of trade which we reduce. ”

“ If a city has 500 infantry and three die in three consecutive days, one each day, this is a plague. If they die in one day or over four days, this is not a plague. If there are 1000 and six die in three consecutive days, this is a plague. If they die on one day or over four days, this is not a plague. The calculation is like this. Women, children, and elders who no longer work are not considered citizens for this matter. If there is a plague in the land of Israel, the Disapora fasts for them (provided there is a plague in the whole land and not just in part of it (Ra"n chapter 3 of Taanit) ) . ”

“ Paragraph 4 - If the residents of a yard all eat on one table, even if each has his own house, they need no eruv because they are considered like the residents of one house. If they have to make an eruv with the residents of another yard, one eruv for all of them, one bread, is moved to the place where they make the eruv. If the eruv comes to them, they do not need to give part of the eruv according to the rules of a house in which the eruv is placed, because all of the houses are considered one house. ”

“ Paragraph 2 - It is an obligation for a man to be happy and in good spirits on the holiday - him, his wife, his kids, and all who are with him. How should he make them happy? He should give the children nuts and the women new clothes and jewelry according to his finances. One is obligated to feed the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, along with other poor people. (The rules of fasting on a holiday are the same as for Shabbat, and see above chapter 388.) ”

“ Paragraph 11- One who lends money of orphans out with interest, even literal interest, would not be disqualified from testifying because he thinks he is doing a mitzvah by having the orphan’s property turn a profit.
Paragraph 12- If a witness that signed on a document had died, and witnesses testify that the deceased would lend to other Jews with literal interest and it is well-known that he was a guardian or the agent of a gentile we assume that he lent the gentile’s money with interest. Similarly, if he was a guardian, we assume he lent the orphans’ money with interest. ”

“ Paragraph 10- A judge should not have mercy on a poor person. He should not say this person is poor while his adversary is rich and is required to support him. I will find for the poor person in this case and he will end up receiving support in an honorable fashion. The judge must not show favor to a great person. If a great, wealthy scholar comes in front of him with a poor simpleton, he should not honor him and ask of his welfare so as not to stifle his adversary’s claims. ”

“ If a father has a claim against his son, the son must follow the father, even though he is the defendant as will be explained (in Yoreh Deah Siman 240) . We force a powerful, rich individual to leave his city and be judged in another city, even if the court in his city is greater.
Paragraph 2- If one of the parties is a scholar and knows how to write his proofs, and his adversary is an ignoramus, the scholar cannot write the claim himself when they send the issue to the beis din hagadol. ”

“ A person is prohibited from testifying regarding a matter he does not know, even if it was told to him by a truthful person. Even if one were to tell him to merely stand with another witness, but not actually testify, in order to intimidate the borrower who will think he has two witnesses and get the borrower to confess, the witness may not do so.
Paragraph 2- A person is permitted to place a cherem in the synagogue on anyone who knows testimony for him to come and testify. He cannot, however, force them to swear. If they don’t testify, they will carry their sin. ”

“ See the end of Siman 3 for how permission from the king can help. A person should not say I will rule however I see fit on a matter that is a dispute. If he does so, this is a false ruling, unless he is a great scholar and knows how decide based on proofs, in which case he may day so. If he is not of that stature, he cannot take away money when in doubt because anytime there is a doubt in the law, we do not take away money from its current possessor. ”