Customer Reviews

Jewish Law : History, Sources, Principles (4 volume set)

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Menachem Elon's work on Jewish Law is exceptional. The work provides the most comprehensive discussion of Jewish law in English that I have ever seen. This work was recommended by a law school professor many years ago. I never cease going back to it. The discussions regarding each of the major legal sources along with their relevant commentaries is invaluable for learning what one should "know" to be conversant in this topic. The footnotes are also excellent and provide quick references to relevant passages in the original sources. This is not light reading and needs to approached when one is fresh. Given that, if one has a desire to get an overview of the history and inner workings of Jewish law, there is no better source of which I can think to recommend.

It is welcome pleasure when an important subject is dealt with by a top expert and the work is translated by people who are similarly expert. Jewish law, its history, sources and principles, has been the subject of many books by many rabbis and scholars. However, most of the works by the traditional Jewish scholars - including the seminal work by Sherirah Gaon and the intellectual masterpiece by Maimonides - present a theology or philosophy whose goal is to promote and explain Judaism as conceived by the writer, and not a true history. Many stressed the importance of the Bible and revelation and the significance of the Oral Law which is not in the Torah, rather than an objective scientific history. Menachem Elon, an ordained rabbi, served on the Supreme Court of Israel since 1977 and was its Deputy President since 1988. This book won the Israel Prize in 1979. The two translators are distinguished American lawyers. Bernard Auerbach was a professor of law at the University of Maryland and a rabbi. Melvin J. Sykes is one of the most sought-after attorneys to handle appeals before Maryland's top court.