Refusing to Bury Family Members of a Get Refuser: A Dramatic Step With Longstanding...
Ari Elias-Bachrach examines the Israel Cheif Rabbi's recent decision not to bury the mother of a get-refuser.
Letters to the Editor: Responses to Michael Broyde on Abortion
Two letters to the editor provide alternative perspectives on the question of what Jewish law wants American abortion law to be.
Modern Orthodoxy at the Crossroads: Past, Present, and Future
Steven Bayme reviews Joseph Kaplan’s diverse collection of essays on the history and future directions of Modern Orthodoxy in America.
Can a Court Really Ban Kapparot and Why it Matters for the American Jewish...
Michael (Avi) Helfand on a recent court case with implications for American Jews as members of both a religious and a minority community.
The Nature of Halakhic Civil Law
Chaim Saiman analyzes how the Torah's two introductions to the revelation at Sinai correspond to two perspectives on the nature of halakhic civil law.
The Realities of Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: A Recent Case and a Cause...
Michael (Avi) Helfand offers an analysis of the legal battle between Susan Abeles’s and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
A Philosophical Reflection on the Halakhification of Warfare
Alex Ozar explores wartime law in the Rambam.
What Does Jewish Law Think American Abortion Law Ought To Be?
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, Michael Broyde considers what American abortion law halakhah might prefer.
Yeshivish Women Clergy: The Secular State and Changing Roles for Women in Ultra-Orthodoxy
Laura Shaw Frank contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.
Separation of Powers and Majority Rule: Insights from the Talmud, Maimonides, Spinoza, and Mendelssohn
This article was written and accepted for publication in the summer of 5783/2023 and scheduled to appear after the holidays. Because of the outbreak of Israel’s “Iron Swords” war with Ḥamas following the murderous attack on Israel on Shabbat/Simḥat Torah (7 October, 2023), we agreed that publication needed to be postponed. Now, five months into the war with no end in sight, we are nevertheless witness to renewed political tensions, public demonstrations, disagreements and paralysis in appointing judges and the President of the Supreme Court, together with resumption of talk of the “judicial reform.”
Despite the continuing tragedy of the war in the south and warfare in the north, a review of how our sources treat the separation of powers and majority rule may help us avoid repeating some of the mistakes of the pre-war political and ideological divisions in Israel and contribute to a more reasoned consideration of the issues.
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