Pruzbul - Beis Din

Q. Who is qualified to serve on a beis din to sign a Pruzbul?

A. Since a Pruzbul is a transfer of the loan to a beis din, the beis din must be identified in the Pruzbul contract. The Rishonim (poskim from the 11th to 15th century) debate what type of beis din is qualified for the purpose of Pruzbul. The Rambam and others maintain that it must be a beis din choshuv (distinguished), while the Ramban, Rashba and Rosh maintain that any group of three people who are familiar with the halochos of Pruzbul can serve on a beis din for Pruzbul. Rav Yosef Cairo rules in the Shulchan Aruch (CM 67:18) like the Rambam, and he writes that a Pruzbul can only be executed by a beis din of prominent talmidai chachomim who are proficient in Jewish law and were appointed to serve as judges of the city. Sefardim follow this position. The Rema follows the lenient opinion that any group of three people who are knowledgeable can serve as a beis din. The Sm”a (57:36) explains that Shulchan Aruch requires a prominent beis din because a Pruzbul is based on the concept of “hefker beis din hefker” (a beis din has the authority to declare property ownerless), which can only be done by a prominent beis din. However, the Rema is lenient, since the concept of Pruzbul is Rabbinic, and therefore the Rabbis allowed any beis din. Jews of Ashkenaizic descent generally follow the Rema’s leniency, although some people choose to be stringent and follow the Shulchan Aruch. Minchas Yitzchok (10:140) writes that according to the Rema there is basis to allow judges who are related to each other or the lender, to serve on the beis din, though they would be disqualified to adjudicate a standard din Torah. Nonetheless, lichatchila, the judges should not be related to the lender, the borrower or to each other. (To be continued...)

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