Systems of law: Jewish Law Books

Book SynopsisThis book explores the Jewish conception of law from biblical to modern times. It traces the political, social, intellectual, and cultural circumstances that spawned competing Jewish approaches to the nomian character of the tradition, and its relationship to secular legal systems, including that of the modern state of Israel.Table of ContentsList of contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction. Can we even speak of 'Judaism and law'? Christine Hayes; 1. Law in biblical Israel Chaya Halberstam; 2. Law in Jewish society of the Second Temple period Seth Schwartz; 3. Law in classical Rabbinic Judaism Christine Hayes; 4. Approaches to secular law in biblical Israel and classical Judaism through the medieval period Beth Berkowitz; 5. Law in medieval Judaism Zev Harvey; 6. The transition to modernity and the invention of the Jewish religion Verena Kasper-Marienberg; 7. Enlightenment conceptions of Judaism and law Eliyahu Stern; 8. Antinomianism and its responses – eighteenth century Menachem Lorberbaum; 9. Antinomianism and its responses – nineteenth century David Ellenson; 10. New developments in modern Jewish thought Yonatan Brafman; 11. Judaism, Jewish law in pre-state Palestine Amihai Radzyner; 12. Judaism, Jewish law, and the Jewish State in Israel Arye Edrei; 13. What does it mean for a state to be Jewish? Daphne Barak Erez; 14. Fault lines Patricia Woods; Primary source index; General index.

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Book SynopsisThe most famous of all medieval Jewish thinkers, Moses Maimonides is known for his monumental contributions to Jewish law, theology and medicine, and for an influence that extends into the wider world. His remarkable work, The Guide for the Perplexed, is notoriously difficult to interpret, since Maimonides aimed it at those already versed in both philosophy and the rabbinic tradition and used literary techniques to test his readers and force them to think through his arguments. Daniel Davies explores Maimonides’ approaches to issues of perennial and universal concern: human nature and the soul, the problem of evil, the creation of the world, the question of God’s existence, and negative theology. He addresses the unusual ways in which Maimonides presented his arguments, contextualising Maimonides’ thought in the philosophy and religion of his own time, as well as elucidating it for today’s readers. This philosophically rich introduction is an essential guide for students and scholars of medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, theology and Jewish studies.Trade Review‘A welcome addition to general expositions of Maimonides’ thought. Much more than an introduction, this book is a deeply philosophical encounter with some of the major themes of Maimonides’ writings, one that is thoroughly conversant with classical and contemporary perspectives. Daniel Davies offers original interpretations of thorny issues, sensible approaches to scholarly disputes, and a steady guide for beginning and advanced readers of Maimonides.’Charles Manekin, University of Maryland‘Many discussions of Maimonides concentrate on interpretation and methodology. But Davies goes to the heart of Maimonides as a philosopher, expounding with great clarity his most powerful arguments and original positions.’John Marenbon, University of Cambridge‘Authored by one of the world’s top Maimonides scholars, this outstanding and comprehensive book is one of the best gateways into the world of the thinker who single-handedly created Jewish philosophy. A unique literary and scholarly achievement, this is one of the best works of Jewish philosophy of recent times.’Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Johns Hopkins UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements 1 Biography and Introduction2 Life and Humanity3 The Problem of Evil4 Creation and Infinity5 The Nature of Belief in God’s Existence6 Necessary Existence and Divine Attributes 7 Diverse Interpretations and Disputed Instructions: Reading the Guide for the Perplexed Further ReadingNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe most famous of all medieval Jewish thinkers, Moses Maimonides is known for his monumental contributions to Jewish law, theology and medicine, and for an influence that extends into the wider world. His remarkable work, The Guide for the Perplexed, is notoriously difficult to interpret, since Maimonides aimed it at those already versed in both philosophy and the rabbinic tradition and used literary techniques to test his readers and force them to think through his arguments. Daniel Davies explores Maimonides’ approaches to issues of perennial and universal concern: human nature and the soul, the problem of evil, the creation of the world, the question of God’s existence, and negative theology. He addresses the unusual ways in which Maimonides presented his arguments, contextualising Maimonides’ thought in the philosophy and religion of his own time, as well as elucidating it for today’s readers. This philosophically rich introduction is an essential guide for students and scholars of medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, theology and Jewish studies.Trade Review‘A welcome addition to general expositions of Maimonides’ thought. Much more than an introduction, this book is a deeply philosophical encounter with some of the major themes of Maimonides’ writings, one that is thoroughly conversant with classical and contemporary perspectives. Daniel Davies offers original interpretations of thorny issues, sensible approaches to scholarly disputes, and a steady guide for beginning and advanced readers of Maimonides.’Charles Manekin, University of Maryland‘Many discussions of Maimonides concentrate on interpretation and methodology. But Davies goes to the heart of Maimonides as a philosopher, expounding with great clarity his most powerful arguments and original positions.’John Marenbon, University of Cambridge‘Authored by one of the world’s top Maimonides scholars, this outstanding and comprehensive book is one of the best gateways into the world of the thinker who single-handedly created Jewish philosophy. A unique literary and scholarly achievement, this is one of the best works of Jewish philosophy of recent times.’Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Johns Hopkins UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements 1 Biography and Introduction2 Life and Humanity3 The Problem of Evil4 Creation and Infinity5 The Nature of Belief in God’s Existence6 Necessary Existence and Divine Attributes7 Diverse Interpretations and Disputed Instructions: Reading the Guide for the Perplexed Further ReadingNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisOne of the most basic questions for any legal system is that of methodology: how one interprets, analyzes, weighs, and applies a mass of often competing legal rules, precedents, practices, customs, and traditions to reach final determinations and practical guidance about the correct legal-prescribed course of action in any given situation. Questions of legal methodology raise not only practical concerns, but theoretical and philosophical ones as well. We expect law to be more than the arbitrary result of a given decision maker’s personal preferences, and so we demand that legal methodologies be principled as well as practical. These issues are especially acute in religious legal systems, where the stakes are raised by concerns for respecting not just human, but divine law. Despite this, the major scholars and codifiers of halakhah, or Jewish law, have only rarely explicated their own methods for reaching principled legal decisions. This book explains the major jurisprudential factors driving the halakhic jurisprudence of Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Epstein, twentieth-century author of the Arukh Hashulchan—the most comprehensive, seminal, and original modern restatement of Jewish law since Maimonides. Reasoning inductively from a broad review of hundreds of rulings from the Orach Chaim section of the Arukh Hashulchan, the book teases out and explicates ten core halakhic principles that animate Rabbi Epstein’s halakhic decision-making. Along the way, it compares the Arukh Hashulchan methodology to that of the Mishna Berura. This book will help any reader understand important methodological issues in both Jewish and general jurisprudence.Trade Review“Broyde and Pill’s book is an immensely informative and illuminating read. By taking a traditional jurist seriously as a legal writer and thinker, they have done a real service, especially to the academic communities of Jewish studies and jurisprudence. If it can help bring these, and other similarly inclined constituencies, into conversation, their work has done more than enough.”— Joshua Schwartz, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Reading Religion“Since the Bible, there are three codes that can lay claim to covering the gamut of Jewish law, including laws whose relevance is dependent on the existence of a Temple in Jerusalem: The third-century redaction of the oral tradition Mishna, Maimonides’s twelfth-century magnum opus Mishne torah, and the comprehensive code penned by Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Halevi Epstein (1829–1908). … Of the three codes, Epstein’s writings have attracted the least attention… In light of the paucity of research on Epstein’s code, Michael J. Broyde and Shlomo C. Pill have made a significant contribution with their volume Setting the Table. Setting the Table complements other recent efforts to recount Epstein’s biography, explore his literary oeuvre, and plumb his legal writings.”— Levi Cooper, Journal of Law and Religion“In this fascinating work, Broyde and Pill … bring to life the intellectual choices made by the Arukh Hashulkhan, situating their work within the long history of attempts to codify Jewish law. … This is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of rabbinic jurisprudence.”—Suzanne Last Stone, Professor of Law, Cardozo Law School, University Professor of Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization, Yeshiva University“Rabbis Broyde and Pill not only analyze the principles used by the author, but they systematically demonstrate how they were applied to specific laws. This work is … valuable both to the outsider and the Talmudic scholar.”—Rabbi Yosef Blau, Senior Mashgiach Ruchani and Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary“Too often, discussions of halakhic methodology proceed from a few high-profile examples. In this exciting new book, Rabbis Broyde and Pill offer an account of how one of the most important poskim of our era functioned both when the social and religious stakes were high and when they were not. This book not only presents a data-based analysis of the Arukh Hashulchan’s decision making, but a set of tools that can be applied to other works to enhance our understanding of the formation of p’sak more broadly.”—Chaim Saiman, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law & author of Halakha: The Rabbnic Idea of Law (2018)Table of ContentsTable of ContentsIntroductionPart One: Setting the Table: The Codification of Jewish Law1. Codifying Jewish Law2. Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein’s Arukh HaShulhan3. Competing Models: The Arukh HaShulhan and Mishnah BerurahPart Two: The Methodological Principles of the Arukh HaShulhanIntroduction4. The Rule of the Talmud5. Rabbinic Consensus6. Resolving Doubtful Cases7. Non-Normative Opinions8. Superogatory Religious Conduct9. Law and Mysticism10. Law and Custom11. Temporal Rationalization of Halakhic Rules12. Law and PragmatismConclusionPart Three: Illustrative Examples from the Arukh HaShulhanThe Arukh HaShulhan’s Methodological Principles for Reaching Halakhic ConclusionsBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisSeit zwei Jahrzehnten lässt sich eine irritierende Wiederkehr des Blasphemievorwurfs beobachten. Man denke etwa an den dänischen Karikaturenstreit oder den Terroranschlag auf Charlie Hebdo 2015 in Paris. Die entsprechenden politischen und juristischen Debatten betreffen gegenwärtig insbesondere Blasphemieparagraphen in den Rechtsordnungen. Doch das Phänomen der Blasphemie ist facettenreicher, als es dabei oft wahrgenommen wird. Denn "Blasphemie" ist kein objektiv vorliegender Tatbestand, sondern entspricht einem komplexen Deutungsmuster, das religionsspezifisch und interreligiös unterschiedliche Ausprägungen erfahren hat. Der vorliegende Sammelband reflektiert das Phänomen der Blasphemie in Geschichte und Gegenwart in einem multiperspektivischen Zugang. Die Thematik wird sowohl im Kontext von Judentum, Christentum, Islam, Hinduismus, Buddhismus als auch im Kontext von Jurisprudenz und Kunst aus der Sicht verschiedener Wissenschaftsdisziplinen analysiert.

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Book SynopsisThe ideas of love and justice have received a lot of attention within theology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience in recent years. In theology, the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love have become a widely discussed topic again. In philosophy, psychology and neuroscience research into the emotions has led to a renewed interest in the many kinds and forms of love. And in moral philosophy, sociology, and political science questions of justice have been a central issue of debate for decades. But many views are controversial, and important questions remain unanswered. In this volume the authors focus on issues that take the relations between the two topics into account. The contributions move from basic questions about the relationships between love and justice through specific, but central problems of a just practice of love to social and political issues of the practice of justice in today's society

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Book SynopsisGegenstand des zweisprachigen Bandes sind die Prozesse, in denen in Deutschland und auf den britischen Inseln aus der reformatorischen Bewegung Institutionen, von der Reformation geprägte Kirchen wurden, sowie die dabei wirksamen Faktoren. Nach einem Überblick über die englische und die schottische Reformationsgeschichte werden die Entwicklung der Predigt, des Singens, der Liturgie und ihres Raumes, der Familie, der Geschlechterrollen und des Rechts, die Herausbildung eines neuen Pfarrer- und Gemeindetyps sowie der Umgang mit religiösen Abweichlern behandelt, und dies in einem vergleichenden, die Vorgänge auf beiden Seiten des Kanals zueinander in Beziehung setzenden Zugriff. Abschließend kommen die theologischen und religiösen Deutungen in den Blick, die die an der Reformation Beteiligten selbst diesem Einschnitt in der Kirchengeschichte gaben. Mit Beiträgen von:Albrecht Beutel, Amy Burnett, Euan Cameron, Geoffrey Dipple, Susan Karant-Nunn, Thomas Kaufmann, Konrad Klek, John McCallum, Ashley Null, Martin Ohst, Wolf-Dietrich Schäufele, Andrew Spicer, Andreas Stegmann, Christopher Voigt-Goy, Alex Walsham, Kristen Walton, Dorothea Wendebourg

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Book SynopsisLydia Lauxmann klärt in dieser Studie, wie Begriff und Vorstellungsgehalt der Menschenwürde innerhalb der Theologie des 20. Jahrhunderts rezipiert wurden. Während die Menschenwürde heute selbstverständlicher Teil theologisch-ethischer Debatten ist, wurde sie noch in der Mitte des letzten Jahrhunderts als "Blasphemie" und "Götzendienst" abgelehnt.Die Autorin zeigt auf, wie es von der Ablehnung der Menschenwürde zu ihrer selbstverständlichen Verbreitung kam. Sie zeichnet den Weg der Menschenwürde in die Theologie in den Debatten um Recht und Gerechtigkeit, in den Menschenrechtsdebatten und in den Bioethikdebatten der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts nach und leistet damit einen Beitrag zum Verständnis theologischer und kirchlicher Debattenkultur, der Menschenwürdefigur und des Protestantismus in der Gesellschaft.

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Book Synopsis

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