Editor's Pick ·
A Closer Look at Judaism and Capital Punishment
And why repentance provides no out.
Jewish Law
Latest Mosaic Content for Jewish Law
Editor's Pick ·
Antonin Scalia’s Favorite Talmudic Law
When unanimity means that “there is something fishy going on.”
Editor's Pick ·
Uncovering the Legal Records of France’s Once-Largest Jewish Community
How an 18th-century rabbinic court dealt with everything from charitable trusts to illegitimate pregnancies.
Response ·
Keeping Kosher in the Age of AI
By Chaim SaimanI ’m very grateful to Moshe Koppel for his intriguing essay about artificial intelligence and Judaism. The essay, written by the rare individual who knows both AI and Jewish law from the inside, force...
Monthly Essay ·
What Artificial Intelligence Has In Store for Judaism
By Moshe KoppelAI has the potential to change the way Jews study Torah, observe Jewish law, work with rabbis, and teach their children. Will Jews resist those changes or welcome them?
Editor's Pick ·
Why a Moroccan Rabbinic Court Kept Records in French
A colonial attempt to reform the Jewish legal system.
Observation ·
Podcast: Shlomo Brody on Capital Punishment and the Jewish Tradition
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Shlomo BrodyCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
How the Book of Esther Contrasts Persian and Jewish Law
Arbitrary royal decrees vs. the eternal law.
Editor's Pick ·
Why the Torah Isn’t a Law Book
What makes this ancient Near Eastern law code different from all other ancient Near Eastern law codes?
Observation ·
Podcast: Avi Helfand on Jewish Life and Law at the Supreme Court
By Michael A. Helfand, Tikvah Podcast at MosaicCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Observation ·
Podcast: Shalom Carmy on Jewish Understandings of Human Suffering
By Shalom Carmy, Tikvah Podcast at MosaicCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
What Makes Jewish Law Different from Both Ancient and Modern Law—and Other Reflections of a Bible Scholar
Protecting the victim and the poor.
Response ·
Can the Zoom Seder Foster Faith?
By Shalom CarmyI will not address the technical halakhic issues raised by the Zoom seder. Those who rule on such weighty matters, and particularly those who do so in the public spotlight, should be individuals who h...
Monthly Essay ·
In Rejecting the Zoom Seder, What Did Orthodox Jews Affirm?
By Chaim SaimanWhat the headline-making rabbinic showdown over online seders reveals about Jewish law and its limits.
Observation ·
Does Jewish Law Oblige Doctors to Risk Their Own Health to Heal the Sick?
By Shlomo BrodyCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
Is Jewish Law an Expression of Heavenly Ideals or a Pragmatic Measure for Bringing Order to Society?
A 14th-century rabbinic debate on the purpose of the legal system.
Editor's Pick ·
A 2nd-Century Woman’s Financial Documents Offer a Glimpse of Ancient Judean Life
Babatha’s Orchard.
Editor's Pick ·
Does Rabbinic Judaism Acknowledge a Fundamental Difference between Civil and Ritual Law?
One rabbi’s argument that civil law is rooted in human reason.
Editor's Pick ·
King Ahab’s Biblical Kangaroo Court
Conferring an air of legality on the murder of Naboth.
Editor's Pick ·
Judaism’s Contribution to English Legal Theory
John Selden, Brexit, and the need for national laws.
Editor's Pick ·
Divine Law, Revelation, and Judaism
Did ancient rabbis get their idea of divine law from the ancient Greeks?
Response ·
What’s Missing from Jewish Conservatism?
By Meir SoloveichikEric Cohen’s eloquent and inspiring essay in Mosaic outlines a series of ideas that are both truly Jewish and truly conservative. I agree with them: the sanctity of the traditional family structure;...
Observation ·
Is There a Jewish Political Tradition?
Committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
What Is This Thing Called Law?
By Joshua BermanThe Jewish Legal Tradition and Its Discontents
Editor's Pick ·
Schrodinger’s Mouse
Committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.