An Introduction to Jewish Law

This is the first book to present a systematic and synthetic introduction to Jewish law.

François-Xavier Licari (Author)

9781108421973, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 2019

176 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

'This concise, well-written (if dense), and often brilliant study is far more than its modest title would suggest.' L. D. Loeb, Choice

Jewish law is a singular legal system that has been evolving for generations. Often conflated with Biblical law or Israeli law, Jewish law needs to be studied in its own right. An Introduction to Jewish Law expounds the general structure of Jewish law and presents the cardinal principles of this religious legal system. An introduction to modern Jewish law as it applies to the daily life of Jews around the world, this volume presents Jewish law in a way that answers all the questions that a student of comparative law would ask when encountering an unfamiliar legal system. Sources of Jewish law such as revelation, rabbinical and communal legislation, judicial decisions, and legal reasoning are defined and analyzed, and the authority of who decides what Jewish law is and why their decisions are binding is investigated.

Introduction
1. Jewish law as a subject for study
2. Jewish law as a religious legal order
3. The sources of Jewish law
4. Halachic authority
5. Hermeneutics
6. Jewish law and the law of nations: the administration of legal pluralism.

Subject Areas: Educational: Religious studies: Judaism [YQRN1], Comparative law [LAM], Systems of law [LAF], Jewish studies [JFSR1], Judaism [HRJ]