A Special Dictionary for Israel

The essence of law is its generality. We appeal to the “rule of law” when we want to judge particular cases according to general norms. This is a fundamental truth for any kind of law, from municipal bylaws to international humanitarian law. A law is a general rule, made in a general spirit with a general application, to borrow from Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A decree, on the other hand, deals only with the particular. Rousseau is adamant on this distinction. What procedurally might look like the enactment of a law isn’t actually creating anything legal if it concerns itself only with a particular case.

Generality can even help us determine what a rule is just by watching it applied. Consider the following thought experiment. A traffic cop stands by the side of a road with a radar gun. Five cars pass at five different speeds: 50 mph, 55 mph, 60 mph, 70 mph, and 80 mph. Two are pulled over and three pass by unhindered. Can we determine what the relevant rule is?

Well, if the cars doing 50, 55, and 60 pass, and the cars doing 70 and 80 are stopped, we could safely assume an enforced speed limit that is higher than 60 and lower than 70, maybe even exactly 65. If the cars pulled over were those doing 50 and 80, we might assume that there is a minimum speed somewhere around 55 and a maximum somewhere around 75, but this would be a bit more tenuous.