From as early as the eighth century to the present, individuals and local rabbis have submitted legal inquiries to the leading decisors of Jewish law in their respective eras. These questions span every sphere of life—from business dealings to intimate personal matters—and encompass virtually all fields of law: financial, civil, criminal, torts, family, medical, and beyond.
The extant written responses form a comprehensive corpus of Jewish legal precedent, serving as a testament to the art of legal discernment. The reasoning employed by rabbis in applying ancient legal principles to concrete situations illustrates rigorous methods of fact-finding, interpretation of precedent, and balancing of competing values in pursuit of ethical and just decisions.
Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa, a six-week CLE course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), explores a representative selection from this vast repository of case studies—spanning continents and centuries— and compares their treatment with approaches found in U.S. law.