DOCSLIB.ORG

Qal Vachomer Arguments

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Qal Vachomer Arguments A Contemporary Examination of the A Fortiori Argument Involving Jewish Traditions by Allen Conan Wiseman A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2010 © Allen Conan Wiseman 2010 I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public ii Abstract This study proposes to clarify the a fortiori argument‘s components, structure, definitions, formulations, and logical status, as well as the specific conditions under which it is to be employed, both generally and in a Jewish context. Typically, the argument claims this: if a lesser (or greater) case has a feature, a correspondingly greater (or lesser) case has that feature too. While evident in ancient thought, the argument is often central to Jewish deliberations that may continue for centuries; so this Jewish use forms the main context and material of this study. However, as general reasoning employs the argument, tracing its common forms helps to delineate its terms and relations. While the argument aspires to be true and it can be deductively valid in those cases where heritable properties recur, it is more likely to be inductively probable. In any case, the thesis presents a number of deductive formalizations, while more complex treatments are left to the appendix or further study. Inasmuch as the a fortiori is claimed to be a type of analogy, both its likenesses and its differences are set out and exemplified in a number of comparative mathematical, practical, legal, and other formats. Once the conclusion‘s feature is deductively valid or inductively likely, the amount that one accords to the feature in the new case needs to be determined. Logically, the a fortiori’s conclusion can be either limited to the same feature given in one of its premises or else proportioned to it in a way that suits both premises. Mathematically, the same outcome is just one possible ratio. However, the early Jewish stand of the Mishnah usually retains the same tradition or least onerous result as sufficient (the dayo) for the new case. A detailed analysis covers this and later Rabbinic use, and especially Maccoby‘s recent claim that the same given alone is correct, which I show to be extreme, for even in a Jewish context it generates several problems. When one includes sensible a fortiori proportions and the possibility of mercy, good moral reasoning can be reconciled with true religious values and traditional precedents. In all, the conclusion‘s amount, particularly in practical issues, involves an extra decision procedure that considers the relevant factors of the actual case. Once the a fortiori‘s informal and formal aspects are dealt with adequately and its fallacious uses avoided, the argument‘s overall reasonableness is better appreciated. iii Acknowledgements I am most grateful to all those who have assisted me with the preparation and finalization of this thesis. I wish to thank Professor James Diamond for his initial help that led to meeting Professors Menachem Fisch and David Novak. My thanks go to Professor Fisch who helped me focus on the topic and Professor D. Novak for some very useful material. I am indebted to Dr. Avi Sion for his exposition of the subject and his keen insights, many of which I have relied upon, as well as responding to several emails. Specific thanks go to Professor (Emeritus) Rolf George for assistance with the logical portions and to Dr. Greg Andres for his corrections. Most of all, my supervisor, Professor Joseph Novak, has shown me the greatest kindness in guiding me through the entire dissertation process from the beginning, especially in his careful reviews and patient editing of numerous, preliminary drafts. Any remaining errors are entirely my own. Of course, my wife deserves credit for her encouragement and for putting up with my many hours of work. Final thanks are due to my sons who taught me how to decipher (some of) the mysteries of MS Word. iv Table of Contents Author‘s Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………...ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... v List of Diagrams ...................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Thesis ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 a) General A Fortiori Argument Form and its Components .................................................................. 2 b) Some Ordinary Examples .................................................................................................................. 3 c) 1. Premises as Preliminary Principles ................................................................................................ 4 2. Preference, Choice, and Dominance .............................................................................................. 4 d) Common Thinking Process................................................................................................................ 6 e) 1. Various Argument Methods and Strengths .................................................................................... 7 2. Argument Justification and Acceptability ...................................................................................... 7 f) 1. Specific Jewish Uses ...................................................................................................................... 9 2. The Dayo Limit: the Same Feaure as Given ................................................................................. 10 g) Some Mishnaic and Amoraic Issues……………………………………………………………….11 h) Recent Jewish and General Developments of the a Fortiori ........................................................... 13 i) Importance for Study ........................................................................................................................ 15 Interim Summary ................................................................................................................................. 15 Order of Thesis Development .............................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 1: Survey of Definitions and Key Aspects of the A Fortiori ................................................. 19 1.1 Generic a Fortiori or Qal VaChomer (QC) Argument .................................................................. 19 1.2 Some Official Definitions or Representative Examples ................................................................ 19 1.3 General Comment on Above Definitions ....................................................................................... 24 1.4 Examples and Definitions from Other Sources .............................................................................. 25 1.5 Comments ...................................................................................................................................... 29 1.6 Jewish Definitions .......................................................................................................................... 30 1.7 Schwarz‘s Possible View and Probable Definition…………………………………………...31 1.8 Alternate Arrangements of QC Terms ........................................................................................... 36 1.9 Comments about the Variants ........................................................................................................ 40 1.10 Key Operative, Indicative Terms ................................................................................................. 41 1.11 Other Terms, Symbols, and Meanings ......................................................................................... 42 1.12 A General Definition .................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 2: A Fortiori Thinking as Reasonable .................................................................................... 45 2.1 Issues about a Fortiori Reasonableness ......................................................................................... 45 2.2 Various Forms in Rational Thought: Deductive and Inductive ..................................................... 46 a) Degrees of Certainty and Limitations in Deduction and Induction ............................................. 46 b) Probabilities in Inductive Methods .............................................................................................. 47 c) Examples of Inductive Arguments .............................................................................................. 52 2.3 Potential Problems ........................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Deuteronomy Humash 5
    Inquire And Explore With Wisdom Rabbi Michael Graetz הרב מיכאל מרדכי יוסף גרץ תורה שבעל פה Talking Torah How Torah Talks to Us when We Talk Torah A case presentation of the Process of Midrash through generations, which shows how the basic ideas of Judaism were mined and refined from the gold lode of Torah. דברים Volume 5 Deuteronomy Special Shabbatot and Selected Haftarot Omer, Israel 5775 1 Contents Parasha Page Devarim 3 Va-Ethanan 18 Ekev 29 Re'eh 41 Shoftim 51 Ki Tezei 60 Ki Tavo 74 Nitzavim 84 Va-Yelekh 92 Ha'azinu 98 Ve-zot ha-Brakha 111 Special Shabbatot and Haftarot 123 KEY TO TALKING TORAH THEMES 1 H Hebrew language as basis of Midrash and as structure of Torah 2 L Literary characteristics of Midrash 3 MI Midah ke-neged Midah [narrative meaning] 4 T Theology in Midrash 5 K Knowledge and Intellectual power are part of the Holy Spirit which exists because of the partnership of man and God 6 E Egalitarian ideas in Midrash 7 P Pluralism as basis of Judaism's view of humanity 8 U Universal vs. Particular in Midrash 9 M Moral and ethical considerations in Midrash 10 HA Halakha and development of halakha 11 TA Ta’am Mitzvot reasons for Mitzvot 12 PR Prayer 13 B Basic ideas of Judaism 14 ED Education 2 BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY דברים Parashat Devarim *Deut. 1, 1 - 4 These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan. Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab, it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route.
    [Show full text]
  • Mishnah: the New Scripture Territories in the East
    176 FROM TEXT TO TRADITION in this period was virtually unfettered. The latter restriction seems to have been often compromised. Under the Severan dynasty (193-225 C.E.) Jewish fortunes improved with the granting of a variety of legal privileges culminating in full Roman citizenship for Jews. The enjoyment of these privileges and the peace which Jewry enjoyed in the Roman Empire were·· interrupted only by the invasions by the barbarians in the West 10 and the instability and economic decline they caused throughout the empire, and by the Parthian incursions against Roman Mishnah: The New Scripture territories in the East. The latter years of Roman rule, in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba Revolt and on the verge of the Christianization of the empire, were extremely fertile ones for the development of . The period beginning with the destruction (or rather, with the Judaism. It was in this period that tannaitic Judaism came to its restoration in approximately 80 C.E.) saw a fundamental change final stages, and that the work of gathering its intellectual in Jewish study and learning. This was the era in which the heritage, the Mishnah, into a redacted collection began. All the Mishnah was being compiled and in which many other tannaitic suffering and the fervent yearnings for redemption had culmi­ traditions were taking shape. The fundamental change was that nated not in a messianic state, but in a collection of traditions the oral Torah gradually evolved into a fixed corpus of its own which set forth the dreams and aspirations for the perfect which eventually replaced the written Torah as the main object holiness that state was to engender.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Eugenics, and Other Essays
    JEWISH EUGENICS AND OTHER ESSAYS THREE PAPERS READ BEFORE THE NEW YORK BOARD OF JEWISH MINISTERS 1915 I JEWISH EUGENICS By Rabbi Max Reichler II THE DEFECTIVE IN JEWISH LAW AND LITERATURE By Rabbi Joel Blau III CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AMONG THE JEWS By Rev. Dr. D. de Sola Pool NEW YORK BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY 1916 <=> k Copyright, 1916, by BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY CONTENTS I. Jewish Eugenics 7 II. The Defective in Jewish Law and Literature 23 III. Capital Punishment Among the Jews . 53 424753 Jewish Eugenics Rabbi Max Reichler. B. A. JEWISH EUGENICS Who knows the cause of Israel's survival? Why- did the Jew survive the onslaughts of Time, when others, numerically and politically stronger, suc- cumbed? Obedience to the Law of Life, declares the modern student of eugenics, was the saving quality which rendered the Jewish race immune from disease and destruction. "The Jews, ancient and modern," says Dr. Stanton Coit, "have always understood the science of eugenics, and have gov- erned themselves in accordance with it; hence the 1 preservation of the Jewish race." I. Jewish Attitude To be sure eugenics as a science could hardly have existed among the ancient Jews; but many eugenic rules were certainly incorporated in the large collection of Biblical and Rabbinical laws. Indeed there are clear indications of a conscious effort to utilize all influences that might improve the inborn qualities of the Jewish race, and to guard against any practice that might vitiate the purity of 1 Ci. also Social Direction of Human Evolution, by Prof. William E. Kellicott, 1911, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Melilah Agunah Sptib W Heads
    Agunah and the Problem of Authority: Directions for Future Research Bernard S. Jackson Agunah Research Unit Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester [email protected] 1.0 History and Authority 1 2.0 Conditions 7 2.1 Conditions in Practice Documents and Halakhic Restrictions 7 2.2 The Palestinian Tradition on Conditions 8 2.3 The French Proposals of 1907 10 2.4 Modern Proposals for Conditions 12 3.0 Coercion 19 3.1 The Mishnah 19 3.2 The Issues 19 3.3 The talmudic sources 21 3.4 The Gaonim 24 3.5 The Rishonim 28 3.6 Conclusions on coercion of the moredet 34 4.0 Annulment 36 4.1 The talmudic cases 36 4.2 Post-talmudic developments 39 4.3 Annulment in takkanot hakahal 41 4.4 Kiddushe Ta’ut 48 4.5 Takkanot in Israel 56 5.0 Conclusions 57 5.1 Consensus 57 5.2 Other issues regarding sources of law 61 5.3 Interaction of Remedies 65 5.4 Towards a Solution 68 Appendix A: Divorce Procedures in Biblical Times 71 Appendix B: Secular Laws Inhibiting Civil Divorce in the Absence of a Get 72 References (Secondary Literature) 73 1.0 History and Authority 1.1 Not infrequently, the problem of agunah1 (I refer throughout to the victim of a recalcitrant, not a 1 The verb from which the noun agunah derives occurs once in the Hebrew Bible, of the situations of Ruth and Orpah. In Ruth 1:12-13, Naomi tells her widowed daughters-in-law to go home.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Science: Reevaluating Rambam's View of Ma'aseh
    Divine Science: Reevaluating Rambam’s View of Ma’aseh Merkavah Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program Yeshiva College Yeshiva University September 2020 Yehuda Goldfeder Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Dauber, Jewish Studies Divine Science: Reevaluating Rambam’s View of Ma’aseh Merkavah By: Yehuda Goldfeder Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Dauber Introduction Esoteric traditions within Judaism Overview of Aristotelian Physics and Metaphysics Understanding the Position of the Rambam Merkavah According to the Rambam Two Schools of Interpretation Fundamental Issues with Rambam's Position The Easy Way Out Does Not Suffice Why Not Reject His Opinion? A Closer Read of The Guide: Metaphysics is just the start Were Chazal Really Philosophers? Only some of Chazal engaged in speculation: Their Speculation Employed different methods: Angels as a Paradigm of Different Methodologies Summation of his view of Chazal and its accuracy Setting the Stage: The plausibility of his reconstruction An Overview of the Cosmology of Chazal: Celestial Spheres and Heavenly Bodies Correspondence between Chazal’s and Rambam’s Cosmology Classical Elements in Rabbinic Literature The Merkavah Theory in Full View Rambam’s Theory of Prophecy Jacob’s Ladder Hekhalot as a corrupted but surprisingly accurate precursor: The structure of the Guide: Significance of Prophetic Error: A final assessment: Not so unlikely Moving Towards a Non proof based Metaphysics A general approach to antiquated science in divine literature Conclusion Introduction Within Judaism, the areas of Cosmology and Cosmogony are most often where a perceived clash is found between science and religion. Among those who accept the validity of both the Torah and science, various solutions have been posed to these problems, and they generally fall under one of two categories.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor in Talmud and Midrash
    Tue 14, 21, 28 Apr 2015 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Adult Learning Institute Jewish Humor Through the Sages Contents Introduction Warning Humor in Tanach Humor in Talmud and Midrash Desire for accuracy Humor in the phrasing The A-Fortiori argument Stories of the rabbis Not for ladies The Jewish Sherlock Holmes Checks and balances Trying to fault the Torah Fervor Dreams Lying How many infractions? Conclusion Introduction -Not general presentation on Jewish humor: Just humor in Tanach, Talmud, Midrash, and other ancient Jewish sources. -Far from exhaustive. -Tanach mentions “laughter” 50 times (root: tz-cho-q) [excluding Yitzhaq] -Talmud: Records teachings of more than 1,000 rabbis spanning 7 centuries (2nd BCE to 5th CE). Basis of all Jewish law. -Savoraim improved style in 6th-7th centuries CE. -Rabbis dream up hypothetical situations that are strange, farfetched, improbable, or even impossible. -To illustrate legal issues, entertain to make study less boring, and sharpen the mind with brainteasers. 1 -Going to extremes helps to understand difficult concepts. (E.g., Einstein's “thought experiments”.) -Some commentators say humor is not intentional: -Maybe sometimes, but one cannot avoid the feeling it is. -Reason for humor not always clear. -Rabbah (4th century CE) always began his lectures with a joke: Before he began his lecture to the scholars, [Rabbah] used to say something funny, and the scholars were cheered. After that, he sat in awe and began the lecture. [Shabbat 30b] -Laughing and entertaining are important. Talmud: -Rabbi Beroka Hoza'ah often went to the marketplace at Be Lapat, where [the prophet] Elijah often appeared to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Bal Tashchit : the Jewish Prohibition Against Needless Destruction Wolff, K.A
    Bal Tashchit : the Jewish prohibition against needless destruction Wolff, K.A. Citation Wolff, K. A. (2009, December 1). Bal Tashchit : the Jewish prohibition against needless destruction. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14448 Version: Corrected Publisher’s Version Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14448 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). BAL TASHCHIT: THE JEWISH PROHIBITION AGAINST NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION Copyright © 2009 by K. A. Wolff All rights reserved Printed in Jerusalem BAL TASHCHIT: THE JEWISH PROHIBITION AGAINST NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. mr P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 1 december 2009 klokke 15:00 uur door Keith A. Wolff geboren te Fort Lauderdale (Verenigde Staten) in 1957 Promotiecommissie Promotores: Prof. Dr F.A. de Wolff Prof. Dr A. Wijler, Rabbijn, Jerusalem College of Technology Overige leden: Prof. Dr J.J. Boersema, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. Dr A. Ellian Prof. Dr R.W. Munk, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. Dr I.E. Zwiep, Universiteit van Amsterdam To my wife, our children, and our parents Preface This is an interdisciplinary thesis. The second and third chapters focus on classic Jewish texts, commentary and legal responsa, including the original Hebrew and Aramaic, along with translations into English. The remainder of the thesis seeks to integrate principles derived from these Jewish sources with contemporary Western thought, particularly on what might be called 'environmental' themes.
    [Show full text]
  • Talmud-Based Solutions to the Problem of the Agunah
    Talmud-Based Solutions to the Problem of the Agunah To my parents Agunah Research Unit, Volume 4 Talmud-Based Solutions to the Problem of the Agunah Avishalom Westreich Deborah Charles Publications 2012 Copyright © 2012 Deborah Charles Publications All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be duplicated in any way without the expressed written consent of the publisher, except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for the purpose of review. ISBN 978-1-906731-20-5 (hardback) Published and Distributed by: Deborah Charles Publications On behalf of The Agunah Research Unit, University of Manchester E-mail: [email protected] http://www.deborahcharles.co.uk Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne. This is the fourth volume of a five-volume series, by each of the members of the Agunah Research Unit: Vol.1: Bernard S. Jackson, Agunah : The Manchester Analysis (Agunah Research Unit, vol.1, based on the Working papers of Yehudah Abel, Nechama Hadari, Shoshana Knol, Bernard S. Jackson and Avishalom Westreich) Vol.2: Yehudah Abel, Confronting ‘Iggun Vol.3: Shoshana Knol, Agunah and Ideology Vol.4: Avishalom Westreich, Talmud-Based Solutions to the Problem of the Agunah Vol.5: Nechama Hadari , The Kosher Get: A Halakhic Story of Divorce Ordering details, for one or more volumes, may be found at: http://www.legaltheory.demon.co.uk/ARU.htm Acknowledgements The problem of agunot – the chained wives, whose husbands refuse to divorce and thus cannot remarry – has occupied a wide range of scholars from antiquity to modern days: from talmudic sages to modern day scholars; from rabbis to academics; from politicians to lay people: women, men and professional attorneys.
    [Show full text]
  • Mishna Berura
    THE CODIFICATION OF JEWISH LAW AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE MISHNA BERURA THE CODIFICATION OF JEWISH LAW AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE MISHNA BERURA Michael J. Broyde and Ira Bedzow Boston 2014 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: A catalog record for this book as available from the Library of Congress. Copyright © 2014 Academic Studies Press All rights reserved Effective August 22, 2016, this book will be subject to a CC-BY-NC license. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Other than as provided by these licenses, no part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or displayed by any electronic or mechanical means without permission from the publisher or as permitted by law. Open Access publication is supported by OpenEmory. Cover design by Ivan Grave ISBN 978-1-61811-278-1 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-61811-279-8 (ebook) Published by Academic Studies Press in 2014 28 Montfern Avenue Brighton, MA 02135, USA [email protected] www.academicstudiespress.com ACKNOWLEDGMENTS any people have contributed in different ways to the writing of this book and we would like to thank them: M Thank you to the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, the Law School and the Tam Institute of Jewish studies, all at Emory University, who supported us in writing this work, and the editors at Hamline Law Review for reviewing and publishing an earlier version of portions of this book as an article. We particularly also want to thank Jerry and Chaya Weinberger, who supported our work in dedication to their son’s, Shmuel’s, bar mitzvah.
    [Show full text]
  • The Attitude Toward Mamzerim in Jewish Society in Late Antiquity Author(S): Meir Bar-Ilan Source: Jewish History, Vol
    The Attitude toward Mamzerim in Jewish Society in Late Antiquity Author(s): Meir Bar-Ilan Source: Jewish History, Vol. 14, No. 2 (2000), pp. 125-170 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20101400 Accessed: 18-05-2016 02:48 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Jewish History This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Wed, 18 May 2016 02:48:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ^* Jewish History 14: 125-170,2000. 125 V% ? 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. The attitude toward mamzerim in Jewish society in late antiquity MEIR BAR-ILAN Jewish History Department, Bar-Ilan University, Israel Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the attitude of the Jewish people to a marginal group in that society: mamzerim, from Biblical times to Late Antiquity. The social exclusion of mamzerim is already stated in Deutoronomy 23:3, though a reading of several later rabbinic and non-rabbinic sources suggests how this exclusion really took place. It is assumed that mamzerim were not accepted into the Qumram sect, just like handi capped persons, and they were not allowed to enter the Temple.
    [Show full text]
  • RLST 124I: Varieties of Ancient Judaism Spring 2009 Handout #8 (May 14, 2009) “Talmud”
    RLST 124I: Varieties of Ancient Judaism Spring 2009 Handout #8 (May 14, 2009) “Talmud” Tosefta (circa 250? 300? CE) “Supplement” ¾ expansion and commentary on the Mishnah Talmud Bavli Babylonian Talmud (= “Study”) ¾ eventually, the authoritative writing of Oral Torah for all of rabbinic Judaism ¾ commentary on 36 of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah ¾ contains enormous amounts of non-Mishnaic tannaitic material (baraitot) as well as much more amoraic commentary (gemara) ¾ editing completed circa 550-600 CE by the Babylonian savoraim Talmud Yerushalmi Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land or Jerusalem Talmud ¾ commentary on 39 of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah ¾ remained unedited; last commentaries probably put together circa 425-450 ¾ while consulted by most forms of rabbinic Judaism, not considered as authoritative as the Bavli gemara “Study” ¾ amoraic commentary (usually in Aramaic) appended to the Mishnaic and other tannaitic materials to form the Talmud; signaled in the text by the initials GM tannaim “Repeaters” ¾ circa 70 CE (or earlier) to 200 CE ¾ the early generations of sages (expositors of the Oral Torah) ¾ their study resulted in the Mishnah and various tannaitic midrashim (biblical commentaries; mainly on the Torah) ¾ their texts are written in a late form of Hebrew ¾ although generations of Babylonian tannaim are recorded in later texts, the main work seems to have been done in Palestine (cities of Galilee: Usha, Sepphoris, Tiberias) baraita (pl. baraitot) ¾ a text attributed to a tanna, but not found in other tannaitic
    [Show full text]
  • The Unanimous Verdict According to the Talmud: Ancient Law Providing Insight Into Modern Legal Theory
    Pace University DigitalCommons@Pace Pace International Law Review Online Companion School of Law Winter 2013 The Unanimous Verdict According to the Talmud: Ancient Law Providing Insight into Modern Legal Theory Ephraim Glatt Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilronline Part of the Criminal Procedure Commons, International Law Commons, Legal History Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Ephraim Glatt, The Unanimous Verdict According to the Talmud: Ancient Law Providing Insight into Modern Legal Theory, 3 Pace Int’l L. Rev. Online Companion 316 (2013), http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/ pilronline/35/. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace International Law Review Online Companion by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PACE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW PACE INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEW ONLINE COMPANION Volume 3, Number 10 Winter 2013 THE UNANIMOUS VERDICT ACCORDING TO THE TALMUD: ANCIENT LAW PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO MODERN LEGAL THEORY Ephraim Glatt* * Associate at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP. J.D., Benja- min N. Cardozo School of Law, 2012; Rabbinical Ordination, RIETS, Yeshiva University, 2009; B.A. Yeshiva University, 2006. A special thank you to my wife and daughters for all their support and encouragement. 316 2013] THE UNANIMOUS VERDICT 317 INTRODUCTION Unanimous verdicts have long been the fascination of law- yers and academics. The history behind the unanimous verdict requirement, the benefits and detriments of such a require- ment, and alternative methods are all vigorously debated.
    [Show full text]