An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law

Jewish Law has a long history stretching from the early period to the modern State of Israel, encompassing the Talmud, Geonic and later codifications, the Spanish Golden Age, medieval and modern responsa, and the Holocaust and modern reforms. This work is a unique single-volume introduction to the history of Jewish law, written by leading experts in the field. Organized chronologically to cover the main historical principles, each chapter offers a contextual approach to the main developments in Jewish law. Fifteen distinct periods are separately studied in this volume, each one by a leading specialist, and the emphasis throughout is on the development of the institutions and sources of law. Most chapters are written to a common plan, with treatment of the political background of the period and the nature of Jewish judicial autonomy, the character (literary and legal) of the sources, the legal practice of the period, its principal authorities, and examples of characteristic features of the substantive law.