What does Din Torah have to do with me? Why is acquiring basic knowledge about Din Torah so important?
Although, I’ve been dreaming – for a pretty long time now – about giving a lecture which will guide people through the Din Torah process, I kept asking myself again and again:
How many people – if any at all – actually go to Din Torah? People will ask: “What does this have to do with me?”
Obviously, these are all legitimate and valid questions.
But to be honest – you should and must be educated about Din Torah, because it has to do with ALL of us.
You may be surprised to find out how many people – that never fathomed they would find themselves in this type of situation – end up going to Din Torah in order to resolve their monetary disputes.
Like many things in life, everyone thinks that this only happens to other people, but it’s important to realize that it can happen to YOU too.
The problem is, that when it does actually happen – it occurs unexpectedly and you find yourselves surprised and unprepared.
Furthermore: a monetary dispute is not something that is pre-planned ahead of time. Most people who end up in a monetary dispute never imagined the scenario they’re in or thought it would actually happen to them. But when it does – they end up losing a lot of money or find themselves in a problematic irreversible legal situation in which, unfortunately nothing can be done about it.
Why does that happen?
1. The possibility of dispute was never taken into account.
2. Lack of basic knowledge about Din Torah.
Think for a moment about car insurance: On one hand, the chance of an accident happening is very slim, but if – Go-d forbid – it does happen, you’re in deep personal and financial trouble if you’re not insured.
Same goes for monetary disputes:
We engage in monetary transactions every day: We sell and rent real estate, sign contracts with our employer or direct, order a new kitchen, furniture etc.
It’s true that the chances of a dispute arising are small, but too many a time (trust me – I know) it happens: something isn’t right, expectations aren’t met and you’re not satisfied.
And then, you’re suddenly in a scurry, spending precious time and exuberant amounts of money in an almost futile attempt to try and fix things up, and end up very frustrated and disappointed.
Too many a time when I meet people who come to consult me regarding their monetary disputes, I find myself thinking retrospectively:
“If they only had had some knowledge about dispute resolution before entering the transaction – the situation at hand wouldn’t’ve arisen at all in the first place!! What a chaval…”
Therefore: the minimum you should do is obtain some basic information that will preempt these situations and make sure you don’t find yourself in an irreparable mess.
Chazal taught us: “He who cooks on Erev Shabbat – will have what to eat Shabbat”.
Trust me: a bit of knowledge at the beginning will solve many problems that may arise later down the line.