030667 KU Introduction to Jewish Law in Context (2023W)

The course "Introduction to Jewish law in context" persues two targets. On the one hand it is designed to provide students with a very basic introduction to Jewish law. Students are acquainted with the sources of Jewish law, with Jewish law as a legal system operating (most of the time) without a state and with the application of Jewish law. On the other hand, it aims at putting Jewish law into context. There are several aspects to this contextualization of Jewish law. On a very basic level European legal history is to be reconstruced on the basis of the inclusion of Jewish law. A closely related aspect to be addressed is the fuction of Jewish law as a model or point of reference for non-Jewish law. In addition to the discussion of concrete historical examples, Jewish law will also be employed to discuss questions of legal theory, for example rights-based vs duty-based legal systems, the significance of interpretation or the importance of minority opinions. Another aspect to be addressed is the relationship between Jewish law and non-Jewish law in Europe, the USA (and Israel) as a question of conflict of laws. Finally the impact of the European experience on the formation of Jewish law will be discussed.