TOURO LAW CENTER
JEWISH LAW
Spring 2012 Syllabus
Professor Samuel J. Levine
Office:
Room 416B
Tel.:
x7138
E-Mail:
slevine@tourolaw.edu
Grading and Exams:
Your grade for the course will be based upon the final exam and class
participation. The final exam will be closely related to the assignments and classroom
discussions. You will receive more information about the exam later in the semester.
Class Participation and Attendance:
You are required to read and be prepared to discuss the assigned material. In
addition, you are expected to come to class and to be prompt. Regular attendance is
defined as attending at least 85% of scheduled class hours.
Your grade for the course may be raised or lowered by one-third of a grade based
on classroom attendance and/or participation. Your participation grade will depend on the
quality of your participation, including your ability to answer when called on and your
willingness to volunteer, as well as your attendance record.
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SYLLABUS
I.
Introduction: Jewish Law in the American Law School
Samuel J. Levine, Teaching Jewish Law in American Law Schools: An
Emerging Development in Law and Religion, 26 FORDHAM URBAN
LAW JOURNAL 1041 (1999), pp. 1041-1050…………………………………….1
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/f
rdurb26&id=1061
Samuel J. Levine, Teaching Jewish Law in American Law Schools-Part
II: An Annotated Syllabus , 2 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND
COMPARATIVE LAW AT CHICAGO-KENT 1 (2002), pp. 1-13……………………..2
http://www.kentlaw.edu/jicl/articles/spring2002/JICL%20%20Levine%20Teachin
g%20Jewish%20Law%20final%20for%20publication.pdf
Edward H. Rabin, Foreword: Symposium: The Evolution & Impact of
Jewish Law, 1 U.C. DAVIS JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & POLICY
49 (1995), PP. 1041-1050………………………………………………………..3
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
ucdl1&id=55
Jeffrey I. Roth, Fraud on the Surviving Spouse in Jewish and American
Law: A Model Chapter for a Jewish Law Casebook, 28 CASE WESTERN
RESERVE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 4 (1996),
pp. 101-104………………………………………………………………………4
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
cwrint28&id=107
II.
Sources and Structure of Jewish Law
Irving A. Breitowitz, Sources of Jewish Law, in BETWEEN CIVIL AND
RELIGIOUS LAW: THE PLIGHT OF THE AGUNAH IN AMERICAN
SOCIETY (1993), p. 307-313……………………………………………………5
Menachem Elon, The Basic Norm and the Sources of Jewish Law, in JEWISH
LAW: HISTORY, SOURCES, PRINCIPLES (1994),
pp. 228-239……………………………………………………………………….6
Aaron Kirschenbaum, A Historical Sketch of the Sources of Jewish Law,
in EQUITY IN JEWISH LAW: HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES IN LAW:
FORMALISM AND FLEXIBILITY IN JEWISH CIVIL LAW (1991),
pp. 289-304……………………………………………………………………….9
2
Samuel J. Levine, Jewish Legal Theory and American Constitutional
Theory: Some Comparisons and Contrasts, 24 HASTINGS
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW QUARTERLY 441 (1997), pp. 441-46……………………10
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
hascq24&id=461
III.
Legislation In Jewish Law
Samuel J. Levine, An Introduction to Legislation in Jewish Law, With
References to the American Legal System, 29 SETON HALL LAW REVIEW
916 (1999), pp. 916-936.…………………………………………………………11
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/s
hlr29&id=928
IV.
A.
Interpretation In Jewish Law
Civil Law Interpretation
Adin Steinzaltz, Civil Law, in THE ESSENTIAL TALMUD (1976),
pp.145-162……………………………………………………………………….12
Samuel J. Levine, Jewish Legal Theory and American Constitutional
Theory: Some Comparisons and Contrasts, 24 Hastings Constitutional
Law Quarterly 441 (1997), pp. 462-468…………………………………………13
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
hascq24&id=461
B.
Ritual Law Interpretation
Samuel J. Levine, Jewish Legal Theory and American Constitutional
Theory: Some Comparisons and Contrasts, 24 HASTINGS CONSTITUTIONAL
LAW QUARTERLY 441(1997), pp. 447-461………………………………………15
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
hascq24&id=461
Adin Steinzaltz, Strange and Bizarre Problems, in THE
ESSENTIAL TALMUD (1976), pp. 234-238…………………………………...16
C.
Authority in Interpretation
Samuel J. Levine, Jewish Legal Theory and American Constitutional
Theory: Some Comparisons and Contrasts, 24 HASTINGS CONSTITUTIONAL
LAW QUARTERLY 441(1997), pp. 468-475………………………………………17
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
hascq24&id=461
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V.
A.
Issues in Jewish Law that Parallel Issues in the American Legal System
Criminal Law and Capital Punishment
Samuel J. Levine, Capital Punishment in Jewish Law and its
Application to the American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview,
29 ST. MARY'S LAW JOURNAL 1037 (1998), pp. 1037-1052………………….…21
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/s
tmlj29&id=1047
Samuel J. Levine, Playing God: An Essay on Law, Philosophy, and
American Capital Punishment, 31 NEW MEXICO LAW REVIEW 277
(2001), pp. 277-297………………………………………………………………22
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
nmlr31&id=287
Basil F. Herring, Capital Punishment, in JEWISH ETHICS AND
HALAKHA FOR OUR TIME: SOURCES AND COMMENTARY
(1984), pp. 149-173………………………………………………………………23
B.
Self-Incrimination
Samuel J. Levine, An Introduction to Self-Incrimination in Jewish Law,
with Application to the American Legal System: A Psychological and
Philosophical Analysis, 28 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL
& COMPARATIVE LAW REVIEW 257 (2006), pp. 257-277…………..……………24
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/l
oyint28&id=265
Samuel J. Levine, Applying Jewish Legal Theory in the Context of
American Law and Legal Scholarship: A Methodological Analysis,
40 SETON HALL LAW REVIEW 933 (2010), 933-954
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1946329
http://works.bepress.com/samuel_levine/35/
C.
Duty of Confidentiality
Russell G. Pearce, To Save A Jewish Life: Why a Rabbi and a
Jewish Lawyer Must Disclose a Client Confidence, 29 LOYOLA OF
LOS ANGELES LAW REVIEW 1771 (1996), pp. 1771-1779……………….............27
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/l
la29&id=1799
Alfred S. Cohen, On Maintaining A Professional Confidence, 7
JOURNAL OF HALACHA AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY 73 (1984),
pp. 73-87………………………………………………………………………….29
4
D.
Abortion
Basil F. Herring, Abortion, in JEWISH ETHICS AND HALAKHA
FOR OUR TIME: SOURCES AND COMMENTARY (1984),
pp. 25-45…………………………………………………………………………30
E.
The Practice of Law
Samuel J. Levine, A Look at American Legal Practice Through a
Perspective of Jewish Law, Ethics, and Tradition: A Conceptual
Overview, 20 NOTRE DAME JOURNAL OF LAW, ETHICS AND PUBLIC
POLICY 11 (2006), pp. 11-27
Samuel J. Levine, Taking Ethical Obligations Seriously: A Look at
American Codes of Professional Responsibility Through a Perspective
of Jewish Law and Ethics, 57 CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW
165 (2007), pp. 165-202
VI.
A.
Intersection of Jewish Law with Other Legal Systems
"The Law of the Land"
Aaron Kirschenbaum & Jon Trafimow, The Sovereign Power of the State:
A Proposed Theory of Accommodation in Jewish Law, 12 CARDOZO
LAW REVIEW 925 (1991), pp. 925-940…………………………………………33
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
cdozo12&id=939
B.
Get Laws and Kosher Laws
Michael J. Broyde, The 1992 New York Get Law, in THE PURSUIT
OF JUSTICE AND JEWISH LAW: HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES
ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION (1996), pp.139-149………………………….34
Kent Greenawalt, Religious Law and Civil Law: Using Secular Law
to Assure Observance of Practices With Religious Significance, 71
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW 781 (1998), pp. 781-843…………………35
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/s
cal71&id=795
C.
Modern Application of Jewish Law in the Israeli Legal System
Daniel Sinclair, Jewish Law in the State of Israel, in AN
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY AND SOURCES OF
JEWISH LAW (1996), pp. 397-419……………………………………………...37
5
Menachem Elon, The Ethiopian Jews: A Case Study in the
Functioning of the Jewish Legal System, 19 NEW YORK
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND POLITICS
535 (1987), pp. 535-563………………………………………………………….38
http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
nyuilp19&id=545
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