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DEAN'S WELCOME
As we embark on the new academic
year, I am pleased to wish both students and
staff a fruitful and outstanding academic year,
and wish our students every success in their
studies.
The Bible orders the judges to
“pursue justice and justice alone”
(Deuteronomy 16:20), and many have wondered
why the duplication, why the verse repeats the
word “justice”. Numerous explanations
have been suggested. One of them is that essential
justice should be dispensed based on the procedural
rules of justice. In other words: the aspiration
to do justice does not replace the principles
of the law, but operates within them. However,
as the seasoned students among you already know,
the study of the law is not merely reduced to
imparting a solidified system of rules, but
focuses on education for creative, critical
thinking that seeks to fathom the legal phenomenon
in all its complexity. What fascinates us time
and again about the law and beckons us to research
and teach it is the integration between its
concepts and the value system that it seeks
to promote.
From its inception, the College
has been, and continues to be, the standard-bearer
of the social cause. We still believe that alongside
the constant drive towards excellence, the gates
of jurisprudence should be opened to let in
people from all walks of life. As our sages
said, “be heedful [not to neglect]
the children of the poor, for from them Torah
goeth forth” (Babylonian Talmud,
Nedarim 81a). The children of the poor, for
the most part, do not suffer from arrogance
and do not put on a show of exaggerated self-importance
and false erudition. Modesty and humility are
prerequisites for learning and advancing.
The College has been renamed the
Academic Center for Law and Business. This change
is meant to reflect the addition of the new
Business Administration Department opened at
the College. This does not close the door to
the development of additional departments in
the social sciences. We hope to be able to gain
recognition for combinations of different departments,
such as a combined degree in law and business
administration. At this stage, however, it is
our duty to establish and expand our existing
departments. We have taken up residence in a
new building, and cannot but express the wish
that our fine exterior will be paralleled by
our inner excellence.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Pinhas Shifman |
