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Dayyán

 
Encyclopedia of Judaism: Dayyan
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("judge"). Justice in a rabbinical court of law (Bet Din). The Talmud indicates that there were various courts, consisting of three, 23, or 71 judges, and that every community with 120 or more adult Jewish males was to have a bet din of 23 judges. The authority to impose monetary fines was granted to dayyanim through a process of traditionally believed to have originated with moses (see Num. 11:16-17, 24-25, 27:22-23; Deut. 34:9). The chain of ordination having been broken some time in the early Middle Ages; however, such power no longer existed. Even during the talmudic period, judges residing in the Diaspora were technically not permitted to impose fines, since ordination was granted only in the Land of Israel. Nevertheless, they did in fact rule in cases brought before them, as they were considered to be acting as "messengers" (sheliḥim) for the rabbis who had been ordained.

Before EMANCIPATION, when Jews lived in their own relatively autonomous communities, the bet din would rule on all judicial questions, whether of a religious, personal, or civil nature.

In Eastern Europe, those who sat on a local bet din were also known as dayyanim. The town rabbi might or might not be a member of the local bet din. The title dayyan is still maintained in Great Britain, to connote a member of the bet din. These law courts, as in almost all countries except Israel, deal mainly with questions of divorce according to Jewish law. In Israel, the dayyanim are responsible for many other areas of personal status, including CONVERSION.

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Wikipedia: Dayyán
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Not to be confused with Dayan.
 This article may be inaccurate in or unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (June 2009)
This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. (June 2009)

Mirza Asadullah-i-Khuy (Arabic: مرزا أسد الله‎), often referred to as Dayyán, was a Babi follower, a religion founded by the Báb in Persia in the mid 1850s. The Báb wrote numerous tablets of praise to Dayyán recognising his devotion to the new religion. In the days before his execution, the Báb asked that Dayyán be the custodian of his work, keeping his writings safe.

Among one of the Bábí teachings, was the appearance of a messianic figure, termed He whom God shall make manifest. After the Báb's death, Dayyán was the third person to recognize "He whom God shall make manifest", in the person of Bahá'u'lláh. Dayyán was murdered for refuting the claims of successor-ship made by Mirza Yahya.

Miller, an American missionary to Persia, wrote that he believed that Mirza Yahya was behind the murder, and pointed to Mirza Muhammad of Mazanderan as having actually killing Dayyán, probably by drowning him in the Tigris.

The Báb gave Mírza Asadu'lláh the surname "Dayyán ('One Who Rewards', or 'Judge')"[1]. The Báb predicted Dayyán would be the third person to believe in Bahá'u'lláh. When Bahá'u'lláh was in Kurdistan, Dayyán wrote to and received responses from Mírza Yahyá that he considered inadequate and devoid of spiritual knowledge. Bahá'u'lláh wrote in the Kitáb-i-Badí that after reading prayers by Dayyán which showed a loyalty to God's Messengers and emphasized humility and servitude, Mírza Yahyá became very jealous and "determined to harm him"[2]. Tensions were further raised when Dayyán wrote a letter refuting Mírza Yahyá's claim to be the Báb's successor even quoting the Báb to make his point. Mírza Yahyá responded by writing a book Mustayqiz (Sleeper Awakened) which reprimanded Dayyán, called him the 'Father of Calamities', and called on Bábís to kill him[3]. At the same time Mírza Yahyá was writing this book, he dispatched Mírza Muhammad-i-Mázindarání to Azerbaijan "with explicit orders to kill Dayyán"[4].

References

  1. ^ The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdád 1853-63, Adib Taherzadeh, Oxford,: George Ronald, 1974, p. 249
  2. ^ Ibid., p. 250
  3. ^ Ibid.
  4. ^ Ibid.


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He whom God shall make manifest
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Encyclopedia of Judaism. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more
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