Jewish Law and Philosophy

Secular law focuses on the relationships between people. Its interest in “inner life” is primarily restricted to questions of whether someone intended to commit a particular act. Jewish law similarly concerns itself with our behavior towards one another, often through a discourse of obligations, in addition to rights. Jewish law also applies legal-like reasoning inwardly, focusing on how living religiously transforms the individual and the community from the inside out. This course will focus on Jewish law to explore competing conceptions of law’s purpose, the difference between divine and secular law, discourses of rights versus obligations, and the relationship between mysticism and reason. No prior knowledge of Jewish law, Hebrew, or Aramaic is necessary. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.