Elliot N. Dorff is Provost and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Judaism. Arthur Rosett is Professor of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles.

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Part I: The Literature and Methods of Jewish Law

INTRODUCTION

A. The Origins and Aims of This Book
B. The Structure and Methods of This Book
C. Who Are the Jews?
D. Common Misconceptions About Jewish Law

Topic One: Biblical Law

A. The Biblical World
B. Fundamentalist and Historical Approaches to the Bible
C. The Structure and Contents of the Bible
D. The Biblical Law Codes

Topic Two: The Biblical Law of Injury

A. The Covenant Code's Treatment of Personal Injury
B. The Code pf Hammurabi
C. The Hittite Laws

A. Law and World View
B. Biblical Methods of Resolving Disputes
C. The Source of the Law and Legal Obedience: The Covenant
D. Reasons for Obeying the Law
E. Law and Justice in the Bible: The Relationship Between Moral Norms and God's World
F. Biblical Law and Change: Adapting Divine Law to New Circumstances

Topic Four: Rabbinic Law of Injuries

A. An Overview of the History and Literature of the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods
B. Midrash Halakhah
C. Mishnah
D. California Jury Instructions
E. Gemara on Injuries
F. Sectarian Laws of Injuries

Topic Five: The Oral Torah: Rabbinic Exegesis and Oral Traditions

A. Two Ways of Dealing with a Fixed Text I: Exegesis and Its Justification
B. Two Ways of Dealing with a Fixed Text I: The Methods and Uses of Exegesis
C. Two Ways of Dealing with a Fixed Text II: The Oral Tradition
D. Continuity and Change
E. The Limits of the Flexibility of the Text and the Tradition: Opposition Movements in Jewish Legal History

A. The Basis for Obedience of the Law
B. Law and Morality

A. The Structure and Jurisdiction of Courts
B. Systems of Proof and Rules of Evidence
C. Problems with Using Courts
D. Alternatives to Courts

Topic Eight: The Repsonsa Literature

A. The Talmudic and Geonic Periods: Hesitant Beginnings
B. The Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries: Franco-Germany and the Spain-North Africa
C. The Sixteenth to Twentieth Centuries: The Aharonim of the Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe
D. World War II - Present: America: Four Movements, Four Conceptions of Jewish Law
E. World War II - Present: Israel

Topic Nine: Codes

A. The Types of Codes and Their Use
B. The Literature of Jewish Codification
C. Pros and Cons of Codification
D. Example of Codification: Maimonides on Personal Injuries

Topic Ten: Legislation (Takkanot)

A. The Nature, Development and Justification of Legislation in Jewish Law
B. Maimonides on Legislation: Mishneh Torah, Laws of Rebels (Mamrim)
C. Takkanot of Rabbenu Tam (R. Jacob B. Meir)

Topic Eleven: Custom (Minhag)

A. The Recognition of Binding Customs in Jewish and Common Law
B. The Interactions Between Custom and Law
C. Justifying the Authority of Custom

Topic Thirteen: The Nature of Marriage in Jewish and American Law

A. The Contractural Element in Jewish Marriage
B. The Contractural Element of Marriage in Civil Law
C. The Social Element in Jewish Marriage
D. The Sacred Element in Jewish Marriage

Topic Fourteen: Conflicts and Choice of Law I: Jewish Recognition of Civil Marriage and Divorce

A. Choice of Law in the Common Law
B. Rabbinic Choice of Law
C. Dina De-Malkhuta Dina and the Traditional Refusal to Recognize Civil Divorce
D. The Operation of Jewish Marital Law Within the Context of Binding, Civil Marital Law

A. Jewish Law in Israel
B. The United States
C. Limits on Jewish Law

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

INDEX OF SOURCES