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.

Volume 20 of The Jewish Law Annual features six detailed studies. The first three articles consider questions which fall under the rubric of halakhic methodology. The final three articles address substantive questions regarding privacy, cohabitation and medical triage. All three 'methodological' articles discuss creative interpretation of legal sources. Two (Cohen and Gilat) consider the positive and forward-thinking aspects of such halakhic creativity. The third (Radzyner) examines tendentious invocation of new halakhic arguments to advance an extraneous interest. Cohen explores positive creativity and surveys the innovative midrashic exegeses of R. Meir Simha Hakohen of Dvinsk, demonstrating his willingness to base rulings intended for implementation on such exegesis. Gilat examines exegetical creativity as to the laws of capital offenses. Midrashic argumentation enables the rabbinical authorities to set aside the literal sense of the harsh biblical laws, and implement more suitable penological policies. On the other hand, Radzyner's article on tendentious innovation focuses on a situation where novel arguments were advanced in the context of a power struggle, namely, Israeli rabbinical court efforts to preserve jurisdiction. Two articles discuss contemporary dilemmas. Spira & Wainberg consider the hypothetical scenario of triage of an HIV vaccine, analyzing both the talmudic sources for resolving issues related to allocating scarce resources, and recent responsa. Warburg discusses the status of civil marriage and cohabitation vis-a-vis payment of spousal maintenance: can rabbinical courts order such payment? Schreiber's article addresses the question of whether privacy is a core value in talmudic law: does it indeed uphold a 'right to privacy,' as recent scholars have claimed? The volume concludes with a review of Yuval Sinai's Application of Jewish Law in the Israeli Courts (Hebrew).

Volume 17 of The Jewish Law Annual adds to the growing list of articles on Jewish law that have been published in volumes 1-16 of this series, providing English-speaking readers with scholarly articles presenting jurisprudential, historical, textual and comparative analysis of issues in Jewish law. The volume contains seven articles diverse in their scope and focus. Two articles are devoted to the halakhic thought of Rabbi A. I Kook; two treat classic legal questions: breach of a promise to marry, and the legal capacity of minors; two examine aspects of the judicial process, one exploring talmudic analyses of the biblical requirement that courts be established in every town, and the other, post-talmudic views on judicial authority in cases suspected of fraudulent claims. Another article addresses the fascinating question of the epistemic-pedagogic worldviews of the rival Tannaitic legal academics, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. The volume concludes with a section on Israeli legislation that adduces or is informed by Jewish law, and two reviews of a much-discussed recent book on a topic of considerable contemporary interest: the agunah problem.

Volume 16 of The Jewish Law Annual adds to the growing list of articles on Jewish Law that have been published in volumes 1-15 of this series, providing English-speaking readers with scholarly material meeting the highest academic standards. The volume contains seven articles diverse in their scope and focus, encompassing legal, historic, textual, comparitive and conceptual analysis, as well as a chronicle of cases of interest, and a survey of recent literature. Three of the articles, one of which explores references to Genesis in (western) canon law, make up a special section on the book of Genesis. The other topics covered are: suicide as an act of atonement in Jewish law; early interpretations of the Bible and Talmud as reflecting medieval legal realia; Ashkenazic codifiers in Spain; and authority, custom and innovation in the seventeenth-century Italian halakhic encyclopedia, Pahad Yitzhak.

Volume 15 of The Jewish Law Annual adds to the growing list of articles on Jewish law that have been published in volumes 1-14 of this series, providing English-speaking readers with scholarly material meeting the highest academic standards. The volume contains six articles diverse in their scope and focus, encompassing legal, historical, textual, comparative and conceptual analysis, as well as a survey of recent literature and a chronicle of cases of interest. Among the topics covered are: lying in rabbinical court proceedings; unjust enrichment; can a witness serve as judge in the same case?; Caro's Shulham Arukh v. Maimonides' Mishne Torah in the Yemenite community, the New Jersey eruv wards.

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.

Volume 17 of The Jewish Law Annual adds to the growing list of articles on Jewish law that have been published in volumes 1-16 of this series, providing English-speaking readers with scholarly articles presenting jurisprudential, historical, textual and comparative analysis of issues in Jewish law. The volume contains seven articles diverse in their scope and focus. Two articles are devoted to the halakhic thought of Rabbi A. I Kook; two treat classic legal questions: breach of a promise to marry, and the legal capacity of minors; two examine aspects of the judicial process, one exploring talmudic analyses of the biblical requirement that courts be established in every town, and the other, post-talmudic views on judicial authority in cases suspected of fraudulent claims. Another article addresses the fascinating question of the epistemic-pedagogic worldviews of the rival Tannaitic legal academics, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. The volume concludes with a section on Israeli legislation that adduces or is informed by Jewish law, and two reviews of a much-discussed recent book on a topic of considerable contemporary interest: the agunah problem.

Volume 16 of The Jewish Law Annual adds to the growing list of articles on Jewish Law that have been published in volumes 1-15 of this series, providing English-speaking readers with scholarly material meeting the highest academic standards. The volume contains seven articles diverse in their scope and focus, encompassing legal, historic, textual, comparitive and conceptual analysis, as well as a chronicle of cases of interest, and a survey of recent literature. Three of the articles, one of which explores references to Genesis in (western) canon law, make up a special section on the book of Genesis. The other topics covered are: suicide as an act of atonement in Jewish law; early interpretations of the Bible and Talmud as reflecting medieval legal realia; Ashkenazic codifiers in Spain; and authority, custom and innovation in the seventeenth-century Italian halakhic encyclopedia, Pahad Yitzhak.

This volume presents a selection of articles by acclaimed experts in their respective areas of Jewish law. A fascinating account of the status among the Jews of Yemen of the two principal codexes of Jewish law, Maimonides' Mishne Torah and R. Joseph Caro's Shulhan Arukh, is presented in a paper by Yosef Tobi. He explains the historical, social and political background against which Maimonides' code lost its unrivaled primacy as the authoritative legal source among the Yemenites. His explanation situates the Code--Shulhan Arukh rivalry within the context of a broader tension, that between the unique local baladi rite of the Yemenites, and the 'imported' but more mainstream shami rite. As the article notes, despite everything, the former not only managed to retain some standing, but has, to a degree, begun to regain ground. Two of the papers consider the work of Israeli scholar H. Dagan in the area of unjust enrichment, inquiring into the degree to which Dagan's analysis of the halakhic attitude to unjust enrichment is in fact correct.; The late Irwin Haut's paper asks whether the stance of Jewish law on unjust enrichment is as far from that evinced by American law as Dagan claims; Jonathan Blass's paper considers whether an inference can be drawn from the laws of unjust enrichment to the liberal socio-economic vision for society Dagan attributes to the halakha. The judicial process is the focus of two other papers. Shimshon Ettinger explores the question of whether judges who have, by happenstance, witnessed an incident that subsequently becomes the subject of legal proceedings, can sit in judgment without hearing the testimony of additional witnesses. He demonstrates that the classic commentaries on the Talmud are not in agreement as to the acceptability of witnesses serving as judges. Steven H. Resnicoff considers the thorny problem of what is to be done when recourse to lying and deceit in legal proceedings is the only means by which a just outcome can be secured. Can good ends justify evil means?; Resnicoff opens his discussion with a short survey of the views of philosophers such as Augustine and Kant, before proceeding to a comprehensive account of the many halakhic discussions on recourse to deceit to procure just outcomes in civil cases. A survey of the views of the great philosophers also opens a paper by Yehiel Kaplan on the propriety of using imprisonment to enforce divorce judgments in Jewish law. He cites classic philosophical understandings of liberty to contextualize his thorough account of the position of Jewish law on curtailing personal freedom by imprisonment as a means of inducing recalcitrant husbands to agree to release their 'chained wives' ( agunot ). This issue is currently at the top of the agenda for many feminist groups within Orthodox Judaism, and Kaplan's paper seeks to maximize the scope for halakhic solutions to this pressing problem. A chronicle section analyzes American cases that raise significant Jewish issues, and Israeli decisions in cases where Jewish law is germane, thereby making the annual a journal of record. The volume concludes with a survey of recently published articles and books on Jewish and biblical law.

Topics covered include: spousal withholding of conjugal relations; halakhic understandings of the parent-child relationship; corporal punishment of children; the prohibition against seeking a second ruling after something has been declared forbidden; the agent who carries out his mandate for his own benefit, not the principal's; mid-twentieth century London organizations for the advancement of Jewish law.

Volume 20 of "The Jewish Law Annual" features six detailed studies. The first three articles consider questions which fall under the rubric of halakhic methodology. The final three articles address substantive questions regarding privacy, cohabitation and medical triage. All three methodological articles discuss creative interpretation of legal sources. Two (Cohen and Gilat) consider the positive and forward-thinking aspects of such halakhic creativity. The third (Radzyner) examines tendentious invocation of new halakhic arguments to advance an extraneous interest. Cohen explores positive creativity and surveys the innovative midrashic exegeses of R. Meir Simha Hakohen of Dvinsk, demonstrating his willingness to base rulings intended for implementation on such exegesis. Gilat examines exegetical creativity as to the laws of capital offenses. Midrashic argumentation enables the rabbinical authorities to set aside the literal sense of the harsh biblical laws, and implement more suitable penological policies. On the other hand, Radzyner s article on tendentious innovation focuses on a situation where novel arguments were advanced in the context of a power struggle, namely, Israeli rabbinical court efforts to preserve jurisdiction.

Two articles discuss contemporary dilemmas. Spira & Wainberg consider the hypothetical scenario of triage of an HIV vaccine, analyzing both the talmudic sources for resolving issues related to allocating scarce resources, and recent responsa. Warburg discusses the status of civil marriage and cohabitation vis-a-vis payment of spousal maintenance: can rabbinical courts order such payment? Schreiber s article addresses the question of whether privacy is a core value in talmudic law: does it indeed uphold a right to privacy, as recent scholars have claimed? The volume concludes with a review of Yuval Sinai s "Application of Jewish Law in the Israeli Courts" (Hebrew)."

Volume 18 of The Jewish Law Annual contains six comprehensive articles on various aspects of Jewish law. Three articles address family law. One addresses the painful issue of the plight of the wife whose husband withholds conjugal relations. In a marriage where relations are withheld, the wife may seek a divorce, while her husband may withhold divorce. Prolonged withholding of divorce renders the wife an agunah, that is, a wife chained to a dead marriage and unable to start anew and rebuild her life. The author explores the halakhic feasibility of allowing a wife in such a predicament to bring a claim for damages against her husband for infliction of mental distress. If such claims are allowed, recalcitrant husbands may rethink their intransigence and consent to grant the divorce.

Another article examines the evolution of halakhic thinking on the parent child relationship. It traces the stages by which halakhic family law changed from a basically patriarchal system in which both mother and the child were deemed subject to the father s will, to a more balanced system where wife and husband have equal standing with respect to custody matters, and the best interest of the child is the main consideration in custody proceedings.

In another article, halakhic attitudes to corporal punishment of children are analyzed. The author explores whether the "Spare the rod and spoil the child" adage, which is based on a verse from Proverbs, indeed reflects the position of Jewish law. He shows that in fact, while recourse to corporal punishment for educational purposes is permitted--subject to detailed qualifications that greatly limit its scope--two divergent approaches to corporal punishment can be discerned in the halakhic sources. One maintains that administration of corporal punishment can be a useful pedagogic tool of last resort, whereas the other seeks to minimize recourse to corporal punishment in the educational context, questioning its efficacy. The article shows that in any event, the notion that corporal punishment is required by the law, as some, invoking the "spare the rod" maxim, have maintained, is by no means borne out by the halakhic literature.

The volume also features a fascinating article on the history of two societies founded in London to further the study of Jewish law using modern scholarly methodologies. One society was active at the end of the 1920s and beginning of the 1930s, the second was active a decade later. The article explains the background to the establishment of the societies and analyzes the societies objectives, leaders and memberships. Both societies were founded with the intention of reformulating the classic halakhic sources in a manner that would render them suitable for contemporary application in the nascent Jewish state. But as the author shows, ultimately much of their energy was devoted to presenting the said sources to the non-Jewish legal world, for the purpose of reciprocal enrichment and edification.

Rounding out the volume are two jurisprudential studies on classic legal problems. The first explores the prohibition against seeking a second legal ruling when a ruling declaring something forbidden has been handed down. What is the scope of this rule, and in what ways does it differ from the res judicata principle in western law? The author shows that both procedural and substantive readings of the prohibition were put forward in the talmudic commentaries, and explains the jurisprudential implications of these different readings.

The second article examines the question of the agent who breaches his principal s trust, focusing on the case of the agent who executes the act he was sent to carry out, but does so for himself, rather than his principal. To what extent is he liable for ensuing damages to the principal, and is his act invariably deemed reprehensible? Another issue is the legal status of the transaction carried out by such an agent. Do the rights and obligations generated by the transaction accrue to the agent, or to the principal? And how are determinations as to the status of the transaction to be made? Is the testimony of an unfaithful agent, or one who has deviated from his mandate, deemed trustworthy? Is any role played by third parties, such as vendors, in determining the status of the transaction?