To the Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
The Maimonides Moot Court High School program includes cohort study sessions, as well as a Shabbaton and competition event that brings together an international group of students, sharing in conversation and lively debate addressing some of the most complex questions of today. This exciting weekend, scaffolded around an intensive case study of Jewish ethics, demands an intellectual rigor alongside developed social and emotional skills. Participants must have an openness and willingness to work with others, embracing multivocality, collaborating, listening, and learning with and from one another.
To that end, we are asking your child to respond to the following two prompts. In addition, your child will be required to participate in a short interview.
To the Student Applicant:
As part of the application process, and to assess your readiness to engage both socially and intellectually in the Moot Beit Din experience, please respond to the following two prompts. You will also be asked to participate in a short interview.
Please read the following text and write a paragraph arguing either side. Use at least two texts as proof of your argument.
There was a natural disaster in the south and several hospitals were destroyed, including the children's hospital. An appeal is issued requesting baby blankets and pajamas for the babies and children. The discount store has baby blankets and pajamas for very little money. You could buy twice as many than at the regular full price department store. Upon closer inspection you notice that all the items from the discount store are made in Asia. Some Asian factories have a long history of abuse of its workers including 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week with just one or two days off a month, forced overtime, limited bathroom visits and other problems. How would Jewish law tell you to act?
Shemot 23:9
And a stranger shall you not oppress; for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Vayikra 25:14
If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
BT Shabbat 54b
Everyone who can protest the sin of his household and does not, is responsible for the people of his household. For the people of his city, he is responsible for the people of his city. For the whole world, he is responsible for the whole world.
Midrash Exodus Rabbah 31:12
There is nothing in the world more grievous than poverty – the most terrible of sufferings. Our teachers have said: if all the troubles in the world are assembled on one side and poverty is on the other, poverty would outweigh them all.
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Geneivah 5:1
It is forbidden to purchase anything that has been stolen from a thief, it is a great sin because it supports transgressors and encourages thieves to steal again. If a thief cannot find a buyer for his stolen goods he will not steal.
Moot Beit Din Application