Cardozo Law Review
Abstract
Arthur Jacobson has been for several decades a leading expert in contract law; he was recruited to edit the supplement of the most respected treatise on the subject, Corbin on Contracts, and has shared his expertise, to great acclaim, with generations of colleagues and students. His interest in Jewish Law, on the other hand, is of a more recent vintage. But it appears that since this recent calling took a grip on his mind it captured his intellectual curiosity to the point of dominating the rich array of his other inquisitive interests with the sole exception, perhaps, of his dedication to vocal music; Arthur has chanted his way, so to speak, into becoming, at the same time, a student, a teacher, a fan and a scholar of this Talmudic vocation. No wonder, then, that I was immediately captivated by our colleague Otto Pfersmann's suggestion to contribute a piece on the "Normativity of Jewish Law." My only regret was that I could not figure out what the title meant, so I turned for advice to both Otto, who coined the expression, and to Arthur himself, as its intended honoree. Otto, who must have detected some urgency in my query, chose to sooth my anxiety by informing me, to use his own words that "any reflection on the nature or substance of Jewish Law would perfectly fit." He also announced, no doubt as a means of further cementing my attachment to the subject, that he himself chose to devote his talents not to the subject of Jewish Law at all, but to another subject altogether. Arthur, in turn, was even more enlightening, and confided in me that he did not have a clue about what "Normativity of Jewish Law" meant. I found these two responses quite reassuring, as they both reposed an admirable trust in my ignorance and gave me free reign to waste your time in whichever way I choose. With this happy realization, I am now ready to roll up my sleeves and inform you of what I think, or think that I think, of the Normativity of Jewish Law.
Disciplines
Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Jurisprudence | Law
Recommended Citation
Uriel Procaccia,
Arthur Jacobson and the Normativity of Jewish Law,
40
Cardozo L. Rev.
3221
(2019).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol40/iss7/12