Sydney Beth Din
The Sydney Beth Din, occasionally abbreviated to SBD, is a Jewish religious institution headquartered in Sydney, Australia. As part of its functions as a beth din, it processes divorces, conversions to Judaism, answers questions about personal and ritual statuses, and hears disputes between private individuals.
History
The beth din was reconstituted in 1905. Prior to that, several attempts had been made to have a beth din established in the city of Sydney; a beth din had already been established in Melbourne in the mid 1860s. Originally, the beth din operated primarily under the authority of the British Chief Rabbi, including appointments of dayanim, but the beth din had control over its appointments by the 1940s.From 1940 to 1975, Israel Porush served as the head of the court; during his administration, the court maintained religious orthodoxy ; and oversaw the expansion of the court's congregation. In 1956, a war memorial was opened.
In 2019, the beth din was investigated by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies for "defects in the ownership structure, governance, measures of accountability and dispute resolution processes." The beth din responded to the investigation by claiming that JBOD had a history of undermining Halakha. In 2021, the final report by JBOD was released, which called for the beth din to be reformed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic in Australia, the beth din had to suspend synagogue services in Sydney. However, they were later restored.