Jewish Law as a Type of Religious Legal System

What is Jewish law? Like the Jewish people themselves, it is very specific, unlike any other legal system. Its foundations are set forth in ancient documents containing the rules governing the life of Jews given by God. Then these norms were developed by the rabbis, who were given such a right by the Almighty, as described in the Oral and Written Torah.

That is, the right of the Jews (sometimes called Halach for brevity) is orthodox for them - constant and unchanging. Just as the Revelation revealed on Mount Sinai was a unique event that gave all generations of Jews through Moses the commandments established by God.

Jewish Law as a Type of Religious Legal System

Halakhah in a broad sense is a system that includes laws, social norms and principles, religious interpretations, traditions and customs of Jews. They regulate the religious, social, and family life of Jews who are believers. It is very different from other legal systems. And this is primarily due to its religious orientation.

In a narrower sense, Halach is a collection of laws that are contained in the Torah, Talmud, as well as in later literature related to rabbinical. Initially, the term "halakha" was understood as a "decree." And later became the name of the entire religious and legal system of the Jews.

Attitude to Halacha

Orthodox Jews regard Halacha as a firmly established law, while other representatives of Judaism (for example, the reformist trend) allow its interpretation and amendment of laws and regulations in connection with the emergence of new patterns of behavior in society.

Since the life manifestations of orthodox Jews are regulated by religious laws, all religious commandments, as well as Jewish Judaic laws and many additions to them, are included in Halakha. In addition, Jewish law contains legal decisions adopted by various rabbis, which establish the norms of religious behavior or approve individual laws.

Relation to History and Religion

The right of the Jews was born and developed in their communities, where norms and laws were developed in order to establish a certain order of human behavior. Gradually, a number of traditions developed that were recorded and eventually transformed into the norms of religious law.

This type of law distinguishes four of its main features, which express the historical and religious roots of Jewish law. These include the following:

1. The sharply negative attitude of the Jews of antiquity to other religions and their carriers - pagans, that is, peoples who worshiped many other gods. It was the Jews themselves who considered (and continue to consider) as God's chosen ones. This naturally elicited an appropriate response. The Jewish religion began to cause sharp rejection and rejection, as well as the way of life of the Jews, their rules of community. They began to restrict these rights in every possible way, to persecute them, which made their representatives rally even more, to separate themselves.
2. The clearly expressed imperative nature, the predominant number of direct prohibitions, restrictions, requirements, the primacy of duties over the rights and freedoms of its subjects. For non-compliance with the prohibitions tangible sanctions are expected.
3. The unifying function of law, which is associated with the formation of the Jewish community. The religious idea of ​​a covenant, the conclusion of an agreement between God and the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, has acquired a public sound. The sons of Israel are God's chosen ones, the fact that they recognize their belonging to Yahweh, believe in a common God, and make them one people. Submission to the same laws that arose on a religious basis, served to unite the Jews with each other, regardless of whether they lived on the territory of their historical homeland or in other states.
4. Orthodoxy. The question of whether the statements of the ancient prophets are obsolete, not affecting the modern law of the Jews, suggests a clearly negative answer. In 1948, Israel adopted the Declaration of Independence, which, inter alia, states that the principles of peace, freedom and justice are at the core of the State of Israel - in an understanding that is consistent with their understanding by the Israeli prophets.

The main branches of law

Judaism implies a well-defined, well-regulated way of life, the rules of which affect many aspects. For example: what a person should do in the morning, getting out of bed, what he can eat, how to conduct his business, how to observe Shabbat and other Jewish holidays, whom to marry. But perhaps the most important rules are devoted to how to worship God and how to behave with other people.

All these norms are respected in accordance with the branches of law into which Halacha is divided. The main institutions of Jewish law include:

1. Family law, which is the main industry of Halacha.
2. Civil law relations.
3. Kashrut is an institution of law that regulates the consumption of goods and products.
4. An industry related to the observance of Jewish holidays, in particular Saturday - Shabbat.

More on this will be discussed below.

Halakha extends its effect not only to the state of Israel, but also to residents of Jewish communities in other countries. That is, it is extraterritorial in nature. Another important feature of Jewish law is that it applies only to Jews.

Legal sources

As already mentioned above, the type of law under consideration is rooted in the distant past. Among the sources of Jewish law, 5 groups of legislative acts are visible. These include the following.

1. Explanations included in the Written Law - the Torah - and understood in accordance with the oral tradition, which was received by Moses in the Sinai (Kabbalah).
2. Laws that have no foundation in the Torah written, but, in accordance with tradition, received by Moses simultaneously with it. They are called "Halakha, perceived by Moses in the Sinai, or briefly -" Halakhah from Sinai. "
3. Laws developed by the sages on the basis of the analysis of the texts of the Written Torah. Their status is equal to the status of the group of laws that are directly recorded in the Torah.
4. The laws established by the sages, designed to protect the Jews from violating the rules recorded in the Torah.
5. The instructions of the sages regulating the life of Jewish communities.

Next, we consider in more detail these legal sources, which, in principle, make up the structure of Jewish law.

Source Structure

The structure of the sources includes the following:

1. Kabbalah Here we are talking about a tradition that was perceived by one person from the mouth of another, transmitted from one generation to another in the form of legal instructions. It is distinguished from other sources by its static nature, while others develop and enrich the law.
2. The Old Testament, which is part of the Bible (unlike the New Testament, which is not recognized in Judaism).
3. The Talmud, which consists of two main parts - Mishnah and Gemara. The legal component of the Jewish Talmud is Halacha. It is a collection of laws taken from the Torah and Talmud and Rabbinic literature. (A rabbi is a scholarly title in Judaism that denotes qualifications in the interpretation of the Talmud and Torah. He is assigned after receiving a religious education. He is not a clergyman).
4. Midrash. This interpretation and commentary is given by the Oral Teaching and Halacha, at all stages of its development.
5. Takana and feather. Laws adopted by halakhic authorities - sages, and decrees, decrees of national power institutions.

Additional sources

Consider a few additional sources of Jewish law.

1. A custom in all its manifestations, which should correspond to the main provisions of the Torah (in the narrow sense, the Torah is the Pentateuch of Moses, that is, the first five books of the Old Testament, and in the broad it is the totality of all traditional religious norms).
2. A business. These are court decisions, as well as the course of action and behavior of the connoisseurs of Halacha in a particular situation.
3. Understanding. This is the logic of the sages of Halacha - both legal and universal.
4. The doctrine, which consists of the works of Jewish theologians, the positions of various academic Jewish scales, the ideas of rabbis and views regarding the interpretation and understanding of biblical texts.

Legal principles

Among the components that make up the law, the most important role belongs to the principles on which it is based, that is, the basic ideas and provisions that determine its essence. As for the principles of Jewish law, in a systematic form they do not appear anywhere. However, in the process of studying the law itself, they are easily visible, understood and formulated. These include the following:

1. The principle of an organic combination of three principles: religious, ethical and national. It is reflected in a number of norms. Earlier, Jews were strictly forbidden to marry other nations. Jews could not be kept in slavery endlessly, cruelly treat them, while in relation to strangers it was in the order of things. It was forbidden to mortgage objects at interest only to Jews in relation to each other, but not to representatives of other nations.
2. The principle of God's chosen Jewish people. It is reflected in the laws, commandments, sacred texts, which states that the Jews are a great people, which God has separated from all others, blessed and loves him, promising him many blessings.
3. The principle of fidelity to God, true faith and the Jewish people. This is specifically expressed in relation to Jewish law as holy and infallible, and at the same time in belittling other legal systems and attributing deliberate sinfulness to representatives of other nationalities.

Family law

This is one of the most extensive branches of Jewish law, which also applies to relations between Jews living in other countries. The courts of some states, for example, the USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Australia, Canada, are guided by its norms in case of consideration of family affairs, if their parties are spouses who consider their marriage to be religious.

According to Jewish law, marriage is a religious sacrament concluded forever. Its termination in practice is almost impossible. After all, the couple made a vow to God, and even if they do not want to live together, this is not a reason to break it. In this case, the law is on the side of the family and, above all, legitimate children.

Spouses can live separately, but the obligation to support children is not removed from them. Such a strict attitude to the inviolability of marriage was the impetus for the fact that today in Israel there is a new form of marriage - the so-called Cypriot marriage. It is not taking into account religious dogma, but at the same time entails a number of uncomfortable moments.

Woman role

A Jewish woman can only marry a Jew, while a man can marry a woman who professes a different religion. Kinship is conducted through the line of the mother, and not the father, since it is believed that the woman who is the wife of a Jew is a Jew, which means her children are also Jews.

According to Israeli migration law, a daughter, son, and grandchildren of a Jew are considered Jews, which plays a large role in obtaining citizenship. The special position of women in the family, unlike the norms observed in other religious legal systems, was established in ancient times. It is Jewish law that secures the equality of husband and wife. A husband in a family solves external problems, and a wife solves internal ones. In this case, a very insignificant role is assigned to the dowry.

Kashrut

This branch of law describes the characteristics of consumption primarily of food products. She divides all goods into two groups - kosher and non-kosher, that is, permitted and inadmissible. The rules of Kashrut prescribe:

1. Do not mix dairy and meat products.
2. Eat only those types of animals that are listed in the Bible.
3. Meat products must be produced in a certain way in order to be kosher.

Over time, the rules of kosher have spread to other goods: shoes, clothes, medicines, personal hygiene items, personal computers, mobile phones.

Holidays and traditions

Jewish holidays must be observed in accordance with strict regulations. This is especially true for the sixth day of the week, the only day off - Saturday. For Jews, it is called "Shabbat." The right of the Jews strictly prescribes not to engage in any kind of labor - either physical or mental.

Even food must be prepared in advance, it is consumed without heating. Any activity aimed at making money is prohibited. This day should be completely dedicated to God, an exception is made only for charity.