Disputes in the Land of Israel: How Judges in Israel Came to Be

Nadene Goldfoot     
dedicated to my son                                       

Joshua leading the  Israelites into Canaan, former home of Jacob and his 12 sons

Joshua Entering Canaan
A representative of the tribe of Ephraim among the 12 spies of Canaan when
he and Caleb were the only ones who had an encouraging report for Moses.
He was the Israelite's first judge after Moses had died.  

                                                                           

Moses led his people of the Exodus for 40 years
before reaching Canaan where he died at age 120.  He was about 80
when he came down the mountain after receiving the 10 Commandments. 

To start with, only G-d was the judge of Israel.  Before the settlement in Canaan of Joshua and the 601,7300 Hebrews and others that he led out of Egypt, the elders of the community acted as judges.  Then Moses and Joshua were the people's national leader.  

Afterwards, the soldier-leader, priest, or prophet took on the additional role to his chief function of a judge.  There were courts in every town and city commanded for by the Torah (the 5 books of Moses).  They had a system of justice.

Samuel, the last judge, who was also a prophet, traveled from place to place to judge. He had said, "Hashem (THE NAME) is our king when people spoke of wanting  a national leader.

A problem that was very human that these former slaves had was just  becoming involved in settling in their respective provinces and setting up homes and farms.  Because of their reluctance to eradicate all Canaanite influence from the land, they often adopted the corrupt practices of their neighbors.  This happened even with a system where everyone could be heard and considered in their court system.  As it is written in the book of JUDGES, "In those days there was no king in Israel;  every man did what was proper in his own eyes."  Because of this we see episodes of people becoming very bad.  Judges, chosen by G-d,  had to change their attitudes, get them to trust in G-d again, and regain their allegiance to the Torah.
                                                                           

Deborah leading the charge

Famous judges were "Deborah or Othniel, Joshua's greatest contemporaries.  Gideon was a young man of enormous but unknown potential.  Jephthah was a judge.  Samson was a judge, whose individual exploits kept the brutal Philistines at bay.  " He came along at a time when the Israelites did not deserve to conquer their enemies.
                                   

Samson enslaved forced to grind grain when blinded

 
                                   LIST OF JUDGES in ORDER OF TIME by Gaon of Vilna

1. Joshua  28 years
2. Othniel 40 years
3. Ehud     80 years
 . Shamgar
4. Deborah and Barak  40 years
5. Gideon  40 years
6. Abimelech  3 years
7. Tola      23 years
8. Jair        22 years
9. Ammonite Rule   18 years
10. Jephthah   6 years
11. Ibzan        7 years
12. Elon        10 years
13. Abdon      8 years
14. Samson   20 years
15. Eli           39 years
16. Samuel    11 years
                                                                                         

After his establishment of King Saul, the king was to act as a judge. 
                                                                             

 This is where King Solomon had to choose between two women as to who was the birth mother of a baby that both claimed to be theirs.
                                                                                 
King David, Solomon's father, was said to have appointed 6,000 Levites as officers and judges.  King Jehoshaphat had set up a special court in Jerusalem where the judges were taken from among the priests, Levites and heads of fathers houses.  
                                                                             

This seems to correspond to the Great Sanhedrin of 71 judges in Jerusalem in the time of the 2nd Temple for an establishment of judges listed in Deut. 17:8-11.  It's function was to judge disputes from all parts of the country." According to Jewish tradition, the institution of the Sanhedrin was founded by Moses, at the command of God" :Jews had returned from Babylonia slavery in 538 BCE to rebuild the Temple and live in Eretz Yisrael again.  They had been taken away in 597 BCE and again in 586 BCE.

The Sanhedrin judged accused lawbreakers, but could not initiate arrests. It required a minimum of two witnesses to convict a suspect. There were no attorneys. Instead, the accusing witness stated the offense in the presence of the accused and the accused could call witnesses on his own behalf. The court questioned the accused, the accusers and the defense witnesses.  The Great Sanhedrin dealt with religious and ritualistic Temple matters, criminal matters appertaining to the secular court, proceedings in connection with the discovery of a corpse, trials of adulterous wives, tithes, preparation of Torah Scrolls for the king and the Temple, drawing up the calendar and the solving of difficulties relating to ritual law.

 71 sages  met in the Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Great Sanhedrin met daily during the daytime, and did not meet on the Sabbath, festivals or festival eves. It was the final authority on Jewish law and any scholar who went against its decisions was put to death as a zaken mamre (rebellious elder). The Sanhedrin was led by a president called the nasi (lit. "prince") and a vice president called the av bet din (lit. "father of the court"). The other 69 sages sat in a semicircle facing the leaders. It is unclear whether the leaders included the high priest.

Besides having the Great Sanhedrin, there were lesser Sanhedrins that had 23 judges in towns with a certain minimum population.  These judges were appointed by the Great Sanhedrin.

Then there were the Courts of Three called the Bet Din, set up to adjust civil disputes that existed in all towns, appointments being made by the president of the Sanhedrin called the Nasi.
                                                                           
The Great Sanhedrin lost its authority to decide on capital cases in about 30 CE, a time when Jerusalem was being occupied by the Romans.  The 2nd Temple was destroyed by these very Romans in 70 CE. 
                                                             

 The General (Aluf) Bar Kokhba, revolted in 132 and regained Jerusalem for 3 years, losing the battle to the Romans by 135 with Bar Kokhba's death.  Afterwards,even cases involving fines or corporal punishment could not be heard, because Roman law prohibited the ordaining judges of the Sanhedrin. Evidently there were Jews remaining here that had not been taken away as slaves or that had chosen to stay from the soldiers of Bar Kokhba.                                 

"From the time of Moses and for over 1,500 years, the Jewish People had legislative-judicial councils that went by various names and exercised powers that were sometimes expansive, other times circumscribed.

Since the year 358 C.E. when the last Sanhedrinwas disbanded, and 425 C.E. when the last rabbinical patriarch Gamaliel VI was executed by Roman emperor Theodosius II, there have been numerous attempts to revive this ancient institution and its leadership positions. "

                                                    

Swearing in ceremony of Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Israel
Prime Minister and President are in front row

Supreme Court
בית המשפט העליון
Emblem of Israel[1]
Country	Israel
Location	Jerusalem, Givat Ramgovernment quarter
Composition method	The Israeli Judicial Committee
No. of positions	15
President of the Supreme Court
Currently	Esther Hayut
Since	2017
Deputy-President of the Supreme Court
Currently	Hanan Melcer
Since	2017

The Supreme Court (Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון‎, Beit HaMishpat HaElyon) is the highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts and, in some cases, original jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court consists of 15 justices who are appointed by the Judicial Selection Committee. Once appointed, Justices serve until retirement at the age of 70, unless they resign, or are removed from office. The current President (Chief Justice) of the Supreme Court is Esther Hayut. The Supreme Court is situated in Jerusalem's Givat Ram governmental campus. Its jurisdiction applies to all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories.

Later, and during the Middle Ages (Period: 476 AD – 1492), when in most countries rabbis judged members of their own community,  it was felt necessary to reestablish authority to impose fines, and in extreme cases, the death penalty.  It's noted today that in Israel, there is no death penalty except in the extreme case of the Nazi, Adolf Eichmann.  That's because Jewish law sets high moral, intellectual and even physical requirements for a judge, especially in one of the higher courts.  It requires strict impartiality, disqualifying a judge to decide any case where there may be the slightest possibility of bias.  

The Christian accounts of the Sanhedrin, and the role that the council played in the crucifixion of Jesus, are frequently cited as causes of Christian anti-Semitism, and are thus normally considered a sensitive topic.  As it happens, the Sanhedrin is spoken of in the New Testament under unfavorable accounts concerning the death of Jesus.  
                                                                         

In Israel, magistrates and district judges are appointed by the MINISTER OF JUSTICE who got his position by the recommendation of a special committee.  Supreme Court justices are chosen by he president of the state, also on the recommendation of a special committee.
                                                                          
As for religious issues, a judge called a Dayyan serves on the rabbinical court.  Not all rabbis are qualified to be Dayyanim.  The ordinary rabbi may decide only on matters of a specifically religious nature, but the Dayyan is also qualified to judge money matters and problems of civil law brought before a Jewish court.  In England, the title of Dayyan is given to rabbis of the chief rabbi's court.

Resource:  The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Tanach-Stone Edition
https://www.algemeiner.com/2013/07/09/reestablishing-the-great-sanhedrin-and-gerusia/
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sanhedrin
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-sanhedrin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Israel

Judge and Kings: Samuel's Selection of Saul and David

Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Samuel, judge and prophet in his farewell speech

 
Before Israel had kings, they had judges.  Deborah was an important judge and prophet who lived in 1150 BCE.  She had led a revolt which led to a fight against the Canaanite king Jabin of Hazor and Sisera, 2 towns fighting against the Hebrew tribes.  Samuel, born in the 11th century BCE, was their last one.  He not only was a judge but a prophet, too. 
                                                                         

Samuel was born into the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes of Jacob from where the tribe of Judah came from.  From Judah and a smattering of a few of the others comes the Jewish people.  From the tribe of Levi came the Cohens, Aaron's descendants and leaders in the Temple who today bear the DNA of haplogroup of J1.  Many of them are still Cohens in the synagogues. Leah on the left had Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issahar and Zebulun and daughter, Dinah.  Leah's younger sister,, Rachel, had Joseph and Benjamin and then died.  Handmaid of each wife was Zilpah who had Gad and Asher; and Bilhah who had Dan and Naphtali.

According to the Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim is descended from a man named Ephraim, who is recorded as the son of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar.^[2] [3] The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas the other sons of Jacob were the founders of one tribe each. (Wikipedia) 
                                                                       

Maalei Ephraim in Jordan Valley of Israel 

Samuel's family lived  on Mt. Ephraim and at Ramah which was in the land of Zuph. " a district in which lay Samuel's city, Ramathaim-Zophim. It was probably so named after Zuph (1 Chr. 6:26). Zuph and the city of Ramathaim-Zophim are mentioned in the bible together with Mount Ephraim, suggesting that they shared a similar locality".  His mother had promised by consecrating him even before he was born as a Nazirite, people who would serve the sanctuary at Shiloh.  Shiloh was the first center of the Israelite religion after the conquest of Eretz Yisrael under Joshua.  It was 25 miles north of Jerusalem in the mountains of Ephraim.  The ark and Tabernacle were kept there during the period of the Judges, serving as the central national shrine and object of pilgrimage, especially during the long priesthood of Eli.

In the period of the judges, the tribe of Ephraim, the more northern of the two Israelite kingdoms, Ehraim included the hill-country in central Israel and was noted for its fertility.  Ephriam had claimed priority among the Israelite 12 tribes, partly because their religious center then was situated at Shiloh in their territory.  Much later in history, after King Solomon died,  the secession of the northern tribes centered on the tribe of Ephraim, to which Jeroboam, the 1st king of the northern kingdom of Israel, belonged.  Prophets later would talk about the House of Judah and the House of Ephraim, the 2 branches of the Hebrew people.
                                                                             

While there, he received a Divine call as a child and was later able to foretell the destruction of the House of Eli.  Eli was a high priest at the shrine of Shiloh and one of the last judges and had been the mentor of Samuel.  He had succeeded to the priesthood at the age of 58 and died 40 years later at 98 as a result of falling from his chair upon hearing of the Philistine capture of the Ark.  His family was then deprived of the high priesthood because of the immoral conduct of his sons, Hophni and Phinehas.  After Eli and his sons died and the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines at the battle of Aphek, Samuel tried to restore the traditional religious worship.

He lived in Ramah and judged Isralites in the sacred towns of Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh, and prepared the way for national unity.  With his own initiative, groups of prophets were formed to guide the people.
                                                                             

 

By the time he was an old man, external pressure on him became great for Israel to be governed by a king like other states and not judges.  He selected Saul for this role. Saul was the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin.  At the time, Israel was being threatened with a takeover from the Philistines.  Saul immediately was able to organize an army of men and trained them to fight.  They had a spectacular victory at Michmashl.  After that success they took on and won fights against other surrounding enemies that wanted their land; the Moabites, Ammonites and Arameans.

Saul disbanded such outgrowths of neighboring religions by eliminating witchcraft from Judaism.
                                                                         

At the same time, friction between Saul and Samuel had grown, and Saul appointed David as Saul's successor.  David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite man from Bethlehem in Judah who had 8 sons.  His first 3 sons were soldiers for Saul.   David had to travel back and forth between Saul's presence and his father's sheep in Bethlehem as he had befriended Saul in many ways.
                                                                         

David fighting the Ammonites

David's popularity with the people had been growing.  The crowds had sung out that though Saul had killed thousands of their enemies, David had slain tens of thousands.   Saul was terribly jealous about this and he in turn persecuted David, and drove him out of Israel.
                                                                         

 David when younger  had taken on the Philistine giant of a man, Goliath in a one on one combat.  Young David had slain him with his slingshot and a stone with a hit to his forehead. People had remembered this brave feat.

 At this point, Saul had David marry his daughter, Merab, but a change of heart cause her to be given to another.  But another daughter of Saul, Michal, was in love with David and so Saul gave her to David, hoping to snare David's talents to fight for him and not for himself.  It was a political move. 
                                                                         

Saul's fight with the Amalakites

"When Samuel found Saul the King said, ‘I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.’ Samuel replied, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?’" –
Saul had ignored G-ds word through Samuel to kill everything.
The Amalakites had come back in history as a chief antagonist of the Jewish people.  

 Tension arose between Saul and Samuel, however during his reign and they had a break in relations.  Finally, Saul went to Bethlehem and anointed David as Saul's successor. 

Then came a united attack on Israel from the Philistines, causing Saul and his 3 sons which included Jonathan, David's best friend,  to fight defensively only, the  4 dying in the attack on Mt. Gilboa.  A 4th son, Ishbosheath, became Saul's successor over part of Israel.  The Philistines had won a domination over part of the country which was only temporary.
                                                                         

David settled in Hebron and declared himself  king of Judah.  After Saul's son, Eshbaal was murdered, all the 12 tribes joined in wanting David King.   David was able to retrieve the Ark with 30,000 of his men when he had become king and it was brought to his city, Jerusalem, city of David.  Now, all along, G-d had reached the ears of the prophets and David, guiding them in their lives.
                                                                               

Beautiful Bath-Sheba was bathing one evening and David caught a glimpse of her and like all men, had thoughts of wanting her as his own.  The problem was that she was married to one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite,  who was away at battle.  They had an affair at any rate and Uriah's death in battle was caused by David's order of keeping him there on the front lines.  The result of this affair was a son that died.  Solomon was their 2nd son, being born and reigning as king from 961 to 920 BCE.  He was king before David had died because of Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan's manipulations.  They worked to anoint him over his older brother, Adonijah,  David's 4th son by another wife,  and others wanting the position.  David's 3rd son had been Absalom  who had killed his half brother, Ammon to revenge the rape of his sister, Tamar.  Absalom had led a rebellion against David, causing him to flee across the Jordan River.
                                                                           

Absalom killed by his long hair tangled in the tree branch

Moabites were into human sacrifice 

 In the end, Absalom's army was vanquished by David and he was killed by Moabites, on the east side of the Jordan,  after his long hair got entangled in a tree.  Moab much later was conquered by the Hashmoneans (Maccabees) who were persecuted by  Antiochus Epiphanes to the reign of John Hyrcanus, and later incorporated by the Romans into Arabia.  His life is remembered  with vanity and rebellion.
                                                                                   
In David's old age, his son Absalom rebelled against him and was killed in the revolt which caused Solomon to become king.  He had some vices along with many virtues.  Sometimes, his passions ruled his decisions, especially with Bathsheba.  He did become a symbol in Judaism and the Jewish messianic hope was attached to his descendangts.  Jewish tradition respects him highly and will still say the King David still lives.  Perhaps not in body, but certainly in his spirit.  The book of Psalms is said to have been written by him. "Not as a great warrior or mighty king did David win the everlasting love of our people, and indeed of all peoples on earth, but as the author of the Book of Psalms (Tehillim), the sweetest poetry of Israel." Chabad   "For time immemorial, whenever Jews found themselves in difficult situations, whether individually or communally, they would open up the Book of Psalms and use King David's ageless poetic praises and supplications to beseech G‑d for mercy."

 May the Lord answer you on the day of distress; may the Name of the God of Jacob fortify you.

. May He send your help from the Sanctuary, and support you from Zion.

  May He remember all your offerings, and always accept favorably your sacrifices.

. May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill your every counsel.

  We will rejoice in your deliverance, and raise our banners in the name of our God; may the Lord fulfill all your wishes.

"Christianity and Islam have derived from Judaism their admiration for David."

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Tanach, the Stone Edition- (Old Testament), Bible
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2050/jewish/King-David-and-the-Psalms.htm

Jewish and Muslim Intellectuals I Admire: Mark Levin and Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser : Standing for American Value System

Mark Reed Levin b: September 21, 1957
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Jack E. Levin.
Lawyer, author and radio personality is Jewish.
His father was an author as well a a father of 3 boys.
Mark has 2 children.   

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser
b: November 17, 1967
Internist, nuclear cardiologist
Father of 3 children. 

I listened to the Mark Levin Show tonight, a Sunday, and was highly impressed.  He was interviewing Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim whose parents had been from Syria and had left, seeking an Islam compatible with American values.  Today he leads a reform movement of Islam.  This man is not in disagreement with Israel, another intellectual that I admire.

I had been watching Levin's  Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News.  He was a former worker for President Ronald Reagan.  He has commentary on several programs, such as National Review Online.  by 2015, he was the Editor-in chief of Conservative Review.  His radio show is The Mark Levin Show which is syndicated.  
                                                     

Julie, Natan Sharansky, Russian Israeli  and Mark
Sharansky was in Russian prison for studying Hebrew,
wanting to move to Israel

He endorsed Ted Cruz in 2016.  That's when we had 18 great men vying for the chance to run for President on the Republican ticket, and after Donald Trump won the position, he backed Trump.  This lawyer received flack for doing so, but stuck to his more conservative position and of course could not vote for either Hillary or Bernie who were so on the left, a Democrat and a Socialist.  This lawyer has been knocking Obama and the Democrats for some time, now, doing what each party has been doing to each other.  It's not one-sided, you know.  
                                                             

Mark with wife Julie

Mark was summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Political Science BA by the age of 19.   That's hardly old enough to know what it's all about at that age,  but he shows he must have been a very wise kid, as he certainly is now.  He's been called conservative, right wing and pro-Trump and I'll throw in calm, cool and collected in his point of view.  He criticizes the Democrats  by pointing out their practices, such as times of suppressing the freedom of speech at universities where it should be heard.  
                                                                         

Dr. Mohamed Jasser was born in Ohio, raised in Appleton, then Neenah, Wisconsin;  practices in Phoenix, Arizona. He was educated at the U of Wisconsin and was at their Medical College in Milwaukee.   He's also an author since he's battling a more virulent form of Islam professed by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR in the USA.  I've also found much to be concerned about as a fighter for Israel with these two groups, so to me, he knows what he's talking about.  Like Levin, he's following in the steps of his father since his father is also a cardiologist, and his mother happens to be a pharmacist.  

He's written "A Battle for the Soul of Islam-An American Muslim Patriot's Fight to Save His Faith."  That's pretty much what he talked about with Levin.  I see he also has a movie listed under his name which is:  "The Third Jihad:  Radical Islam's Vision For America."  
                                                     

Speaking with Sebastian Gorka, another great mind

Dr. Jasser has been involved in debates with the other Islamists already.  That impressed me.  That's an excellent way to hear differences and weigh the strength of their convictions and accuracies;  in a real debate.  He's leading his American Islamic Forum for Democracy.    That means he's engaging in the war of ideas against the ideology of political Islam, which seems to be the only thrust today with ISIS and others.  
                                                     

CAIR, he brought out, supports Hamas with finances.  He's not for that at all.  to hear a Muslim say this was so refreshing.  I'm so glad that Levin also thought enough of him to have him on the show.  I have Muslim friends found through facebook, and they're thinkers like Dr. Jasser, too.  I think they'd also be impressed to see that the United States has someone like Jasser as a citizen.  Dr. Jasser was also another cool, calm and collected speaker who was highly intelligent.  One who is an internist and also so well apprised with the political leanings of his own Muslim politics and standing his ground was an enlightened experience.  
                                                        

Raquel Evita Saraswati & Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, author, "Battle for the Soul of Islam"

I note that Dr. Jasser's parents  either got out of Syria before the June 1967 Six Day War when all the neighboring countries had attacked Israel, including Syria, one of the leaders, because they were in the USA by November where Mohamad was born, or they arrived just after the war.  I hope it was way before, since it would be hard to travel so close to her impending time of giving birth.  That would have been their last memories of Israel.  
                                                       

Fighting in Damascus

It was in 1966 that Syria's 9th revolution was taking place in February since 1949.  Their Ba'ath Political party was being backed by the USSR and had seized power.  The new government's policy was one of hatred and hostility towards Israel by dong the following:
  1. Preached waging of a" People's War of Liberation" against Israel 
  2.  Activated terrorist groups against Israel from Syria and other territories
  3.  Syrian army in Golan Heights shelled Israeli villages in Jordan Valley below
  4.  Tried to divert Jordan River and deprive Israel of water
  5.  January 1967 started tensely from hostility, and by May exploited by USSR, Egypt and Syria, producing an escalation leading to Six Day War.    
                                                      

Dr. Jasser with little sister, now a psychiatrist

A feather in Jasser's hat is that he  is a former lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, where he served as staff internist in the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States  Congress. 
                                                     

He's going to be heard, even though a Senator panned him, following the CAIR group think.  "He is also a contributor to national and international media, where he has advocated separation of mosque and state and spoken against the ideology of “political Islam” or Islamism. He has been a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, Newsmax TV, CNN, CBS, MSNBC, and TheBlaze. He has also contributed articles to nationally read newspapers such as the Arizona Republic, The Dallas Morning News, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Times."

Jasser is trying to get Muslims involved in American issues. His goal is  "“to press Muslim leaders to aggressively oppose a ‘culture of separatism." 

As I look at his first name, it looks so much to me like Yehudi.  Doesn't it to you?  This is Hebrew for "Jew."  it makes me wonder.  There were lots of Jews in Syria for a very very long time, especially in Aleppo and Damascus.  

I said that both this Jewish and this Muslim man stood for the American value system, just as I see that other Americans have not been.  The news coming forth shows that those in power have been manipulating it and breaking our own laws that make it so special.  The point we are at is simply shocking, so that it's refreshing to see people working hard through the spoken word and debates and discussions to get our country back on track.  You don't have to come from the Pilgrims to do it, just believe in our American values.  

Research:  https://aifdemocracy.org/our-work/our-team/dr-jasser/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Levin 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuhdi_Jasser
Booklet: facts about Israel
https://www.hebrewsurnames.com/JASSER
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/17/muslim-refugee-rosenwald/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/04/03/cair-angered-by-moderate-muslim%E2%80%99s-appointment-to-religious-freedom-commission/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/06/13/miss-israel-and-miss-iraq-share-message-of-peace-at-ajc-global-forum/
http://www.mzuhdijasser.com/about  Biography
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8044/cair-dawud-walids written by Jasser