Hefker beth-din hefker
Hefker beth-din hefker (alternative spelling: hefker beit din hefker) (), "that which is declared by a court ownerless property is forthwith accounted ownerless property", is a principle in Jewish religious law that stipulates the right of a Jewish court of law in what regards jus in re aliena (lit. "right to another person's property"). The principle is derived from an episode in the Book of Ezra, where Ezra the Scribe commanded the Jewish people to return to their former country, threatening to confiscate the property of anyone who refuses to go-up to the Land of Israel, after having lived in exile. The principle appears in the Talmud, being derived from the Mishnah, as well as from the Hebrew Bible, according to which a court may transfer property from its owners without legal or formal justification, as it deems fit. Whosoever will not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his property will be confiscated, while he, himself, separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Implications This principle has far-reaching consequences, since it is possible to formally uproot things, making the new reality binding upon all parties, in so