Do I Have to Respond to Every Hazmana

Rav Yaakov Semiaticki

Question:

I received a hazmanah for a din Torah and showed it to a Talmid Chacham. He told me that in his opinion there is no real case against me. Can I ignore the hazmanah?  

Answer:

There was never a party to a din Torah who did not think that he was in the right. You have to keep in mind that there are two sides to every story, and this Talmid Chacham is only hearing one side and making his statement based on that.

A bais din will listen to both sides of the story before issuing their ruling, and you certainly cannot ignore a hazmanah and must show up to bais din. If there really is no case against you, bais din will rule accordingly; however, you must appear in bais din. If you ignore the hazmanah, despite your perceived innocence, you will be considered a “mesarev”, one who evades a summons to bais din.