Jewish Law

What is Jewish Law? Uncovering a Debate between the Tur and the Ran

Lehrhaus Editor Shlomo Zuckier examines two divergent understandings of Jewish law.

Buying Jewish Whiskey

Last year, Nathan B. Oman, a Latter-day Saint and law professor, bought hametz from the members of Chaim Saiman’s synagogue before Passover. This is his story—a profound meditation on the nature of religious law and legal fiction — with an introduction by Chaim Saiman.

Revival of the Forgotten Talmud

Sefaria has recently published a new bilingual digital edition of Talmud Yerushalmi. Taking stock of this development, Zachary Rothblatt offers an erudite synthesis of the history of Yerushalmi.

The Talmud’s Economic Behavior, and the Study of Behavioral Economics

Shlomo Zuckier explores some surprising connections between the Talmud and the field of behavioral economics.

It Will Be Torah and I Am Compelled to Study It: A Philosophy of...

Elinatan Kupferberg argues that the boundaries between Torah and Madda have blurred and evolved throughout Jewish intellectual history. This erudite analysis upends our assumptions about Torah u-Madda and breathtakingly reimagines its past, present, and future.

Does the Torah Care About Your Feelings?

Josh Yuter looks at the ways that Halakha takes into consideration, and responds to, human feelings.

Nishmat HaBayit: A Window into the Successes of Yoatzot Halacha

Rabbi Ezra Schwartz reviews Nishmat HaBayit, a responsa collection by the Yoatzot Halacha of Nishmat

Divinity Redefined- Review of Christine Hayes, What’s Divine About Divine Law?: Early Perspectives

Rabbi Daniel Reifman reviews Christine Hayes' Whats Divine about Divine Law?

Teaching Talmud in the 21st Century: A Student Voice

Dan Jutan, Dov Greenwood, and Meir Kerzner explore the fundamentals of Jewish Education.

Saiman’s Halakhah: Rabbinic Law as Culture

Suzanne Last Stone reviews Chaim Saiman's Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law.