American law and the American legal system are rights-based, whereas Jewish law and the halakhic system are duty-based. This distinction goes to the heart of the two legal systems; the basis on which each is founded, how they conceptualize human nature and the social order, and how they function. The American legal system is a human construction forged in a secular society. The halakhic system, while honed and clarified over the centuries by human decisors, is ultimately grounded in a text revealed by God. In consequence, the two legal systems approach problems quite differently. This is explained and illustrated in this volume by discussions of such compelling social issues as euthanasia, medical treatment without consent, search and seizure in schools, procreation rights of prisoners, liability for environmental damage, termination of parental rights due to mental incapacity, and the capacity of the mentally retarded to give informed consent.

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A “volume of lasting significance” that illuminates how the clash between sex and religion has defined our nation’s history (Lee C. Bollinger, president, Columbia University). Lauded for “bringing a bracing and much-needed dose of reality about the Founders’ views of sexuality” (New York Review of Books), Geoffrey R. Stone’s Sex and the Constitution traces the evolution of legal and moral codes that have legislated sexual behavior from America’s earliest days to today’s fractious political climate. This “fascinating and maddening” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) narrative shows how agitators, moralists, and, especially, the justices of the Supreme Court have navigated issues as divisive as abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and contraception. Overturning a raft of contemporary shibboleths, Stone reveals that at the time the Constitution was adopted there were no laws against obscenity or abortion before the midpoint of pregnancy. A pageant of historical characters, including Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Anthony Comstock, Margaret Sanger, and Justice Anthony Kennedy, enliven this “commanding synthesis of scholarship” (Publishers Weekly) that dramatically reveals how our laws about sex, religion, and morality reflect the cultural schisms that have cleaved our nation from its founding.

This volume contributes to the growing field of comparative Jewish and American law, presenting twenty-six essays characterized by a number of distinct features. The essays will appeal to legal scholars and, at the same time, will be accessible and of interest to a more general audience of intellectually curious readers. These contributions are faithful to Jewish law on its own terms, while applying comparative methods to offer fresh perspectives on complex issues in the Jewish legal system. Through careful comparative analysis, the essays also turn to Jewish law to provide insights into substantive and conceptual areas of the American legal system, particularly areas of American law that are complex, controversial, and unsettled.

The first and only casebook on the subject in English, Jewish Law provides insight into a legal system with a long and rich tradition, addressing issues that are relevant today in American law. Its primary focus is on the legal aspects of Jewish law, with emphasis on its historical development. The quoted materials originate from a wide variety of sources, from the Torah and rabbinic responsa, to modern authorities and court opinions written by Justice Elon while serving as a Justice and Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Israel. Jewish Law encompasses a broad spectrum of subjects, and in sufficient depth that professors can adapt the materials to their individual teaching methods. By combining jurisprudence, comparative law, and practical law in one clear and concise text, this casebook provides background and perspective for students as well as practitioners. It contrasts the treatment of various topics in Jewish law with the approaches taken by other legal systems, such as American, English, and modern Israeli, thereby offering new insights. The translations from Hebrew to English preserve the original flavor of the Hebrew text. Justice Elon is a legendary figure in Jewish law. He founded and headed the Institute for Research in Jewish Law at the Hebrew University. He was consulted by the Israeli legislature regarding Jewish law issues during the codification of Israeli Civil Law and served as a member of legislative committees. His three-volume treatise, Jewish Law: Ha-Mishpat Ha-Ivri, has become a classic work on the subject in Israel. As a law professor for over 30 years and an ordained rabbi, Justice Elon brings his teaching expertise to this text. His co-authors are also noted and distinguished legal scholars and practitioners, and were the translators of Justice Elon's treatise, Jewish Law (Ha-Mishpat Ha-Ivri), into English.

How the rabbis of late antiquity used time to define the boundaries of Jewish identity The rabbinic corpus begins with a question–“when?”—and is brimming with discussions about time and the relationship between people, God, and the hour. Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism explores the rhythms of time that animated the rabbinic world of late antiquity, revealing how rabbis conceptualized time as a way of constructing difference between themselves and imperial Rome, Jews and Christians, men and women, and human and divine. In each chapter, Sarit Kattan Gribetz explores a unique aspect of rabbinic discourse on time. She shows how the ancient rabbinic texts artfully subvert Roman imperialism by offering "rabbinic time" as an alternative to "Roman time." She examines rabbinic discourse about the Sabbath, demonstrating how the weekly day of rest marked "Jewish time" from "Christian time." Gribetz looks at gendered daily rituals, showing how rabbis created "men's time" and "women's time" by mandating certain rituals for men and others for women. She delves into rabbinic writings that reflect on how God spends time and how God's use of time relates to human beings, merging "divine time" with "human time." Finally, she traces the legacies of rabbinic constructions of time in the medieval and modern periods. Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism sheds new light on the central role that time played in the construction of Jewish identity, subjectivity, and theology during this transformative period in the history of Judaism.

Judaism and Disability delves into all of the ancient texts and their explications, including the Tanach, the Hebrew acronym for the Jewish Bible, the Mishnah, considered the foundation of rabbinic literature, and the Bavli, the Babylonian Talmud. Instead of imposing a contemporary consciousness upon these archaic works, this carefully researched book presents their viewpoints as written, in an effort to understand why they expressed the sensibilities that they did.

The second volume of the series "Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses" points out the roots of the concept of ''human rights'' in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It shows how far the universal validity of ''human rights'' opposes in some crucial points with religious traditions. The volume demonstrates that new perspectives are introduced to the general discussion about human rights when related to religious traditions. Especially the interreligious viewpoint proves that a new kind of debate about human rights and its history is necessary.

What does it mean to be Jewish in the 21st century? Goldman offers eloquent, thoughtful answers to this and other questions through an absorbing exploration of modern Judaism.

How does one navigate living religiously in a secular world? Where life is governed not just by the laws of faith, but by the laws of the state as well, what does “doing the right thing” actually mean? When people think about the interplay between religious and secular law, certain meta-issues arise, such as, how does one weigh what is legal (which secular law demands) versus what is right (that is, the moral code which religion expects its followers to adhere to)? Such questions inevitably lead one to ponder the purpose of law as well as its underlying expectations. This book tackles such questions, from the perspective of a Jewish educator who has lived his life according to two distinct (and sometimes conflicting) legal systems: halakha (Jewish law) and the United States Code (U.S. legal code). With this as a starting point, Between the Laws of God and Man explores key core elements of Jewish and secular law to determine commonalities, divergences, and implications for each.

A leading cultural historian explores the complex interactions of Jewish and American cultures.