Volume 19 of The Jewish Law Annual is a festschrift in honor of
Professor Neil S. Hecht. It contains thirteen articles, ten in
English and three in Hebrew. Several articles are jurisprudential
in nature, focusing on analysis of halakhic institutions and
concepts. Elisha Ancselovits discusses the concept of the prosbul,
asking whether it is correct to construe it as a legal fiction, as
several scholars have asserted. He takes issue with this
characterization of the prosbul, and with other scholarly readings
of Tannaitic law in general. The concepts of dignity and shame are
addressed in two very different articles, one by Nahum Rakover, and
the other by Hanina Ben-Menahem. The former discusses halakhic
sources pertaining to the dignity inherent in human existence, and
the importance of nurturing it. The latter presents a fascinating
survey of actual legal practices that contravened this haklakhic
norm. Attestations of these practices are adduced not only from
halakhic and semi-halakhic documents, but also from literary,
historical, and ethnographic sources. Three articles tackle topical
issues of considerable contemporary interest. Bernard S. Jackson
comments on legal issues relating to the concept of conversion
arising from the story of the biblical heroine Ruth, and compares
that concept to the notion of conversion invoked by a recent
English court decision on eligibility for admission to
denominational schools. An article by Dov I. Frimer explores the
much agonized-over question of halakhic remedies for the wife whose
husband refuses to grant her a get (bill of divorce), precluding
her remarriage. Frimer's focus is the feasibility of inducing the
husband to grant the get through monetary pressure, specifically,
by awarding the chained wife compensatory tort damages. Tort
remedies are also discussed in the third topical article, by Ronnie
Warburg, on negligent misrepresentation by investment advisors. Two
papers focus on theory of law. Shai Wozner explores the decision
rules-conduct rules dichotomy in the Jewish law context, clarifying
how analysis of which category a given law falls under enhances our
understanding of the law's intent. Daniel Sinclair explores the
doctrine of normative transparency in the writings of Maimonides,
the Hatam Sofer, and R. Abraham Isaac Kook, demonstrating that
although transparency was universally endorsed as an ideal, some
rabbinical authorities were willing to forego transparency where
maintenance of the halakhic system itself was imperiled. An article
by Alfredo M. Rabello reviews the primary and secondary literature
on end-of-life issues, and contextualizes the much-discussed
talmudic passage bAvoda Zara 18a. And an article by Chaim Saiman
offers a critical survey of the main approaches to conceptualizing
and teaching Jewish law in American universities; it also makes
suggestions for new, and perhaps more illuminating pedagogic
direction. In the Hebrew section, an intriguing article by
Berachyahu Lifshitz presents a comparison of Persian and talmudic
law on the status of promises and the role of the divine in their
enforcement. Yuval Sinai discusses the halakhic law of evidence,
particularly the well-known "two witnesses" requirement and
departures from it. The volume closes with a historical article by
Elimelech Westreich on the official rabbinical court in nineteenth
century Jerusalem. It focuses on the rabbinical figures who served
on the court, the communities for whom it adjudicated, and its role
in the broader geopolitical and sociocultural context.
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