California Civil Court Asked To Confirm Bet Din's Ruling On Torah Scrolls

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times reports on an unusual suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in which the widow of an Orthodox rabbi is asking a civil court to confirm an award by a Jewish religious tribunal. A hearing is scheduled for April 3. The case, Pauker vs. Ohana, involves the attempt since 2002 by the widow of Rabbi Norman Pauker to recover four Torah scrolls that she says were loaned for two years by her husband to his former assistant, Rabbi Samuel Ohana. The 73-year old Ohana, says that Rabbi Pauker gave the Torahs outright to him for his congregation after Pauker's synagogue closed. The bet din (Jewish religious court) apparently credited the validity of a handwritten agreement reflecting a loan of the scrolls and ordered them returned within 30 days. Ohana says his signature was pasted onto the agreement by someone else. He has now appealed to a higher religious court in Jerusalem. Since both parties had signed an agreement to abide by the bet din's ruling, however, Pauker disputes the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem court.