[Avodah] Two idle questions

[Zev Sero]

David Riceman wrote:
> 1.  A friend asked me if there's a Biblical source for "anus rahmana 
> patrei".  I mentioned the Rambam's explanation (in H. Tshuva 5:4), but 
> he would prefer a deduction from a pasuk.

Devarim 22:26-27


> 2.  What happens when "hefker beis din hefker" contradicts "dina 
> d'malchusa dina" (see the comments about property in the Fifth amendment 
> to the constitution)?

If you're talking about the malchusa itself acting as a "beis din", then
obviously it can't act against its own constitution; any such purported
action is void, and legally never happened.  Remember, it's "dina
demalchusa", not "dina demalka"; the king can't just make up his own laws.

If you're talking about a law that constrains a beis din, I'm not sure
that the Torah recognises any such power on the part of the malchus.
It would seem that any interference on the part of the law in the normal
functioning of a beis din must be resisted because of "lo soguru".


-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher