The Messiah and the Law

Authors

• Arthur Jacobson, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of LawFollow

Publication Date

Spring 2017

Journal

Law & Literature

Abstract

Rabbinic tradition traces the genealogy of the Messiah, on the one side, to a father having intercourse with one of his daughters, and, on the other, to a father-in-law having intercourse with his daughter-in-law. (Also Moses, the lawgiver, was the product of a union between a nephew and an aunt.) The article considers the significance of these extraordinary genealogies. It concludes that in rabbinic tradition the precondition for both the arrival of the Messiah and the creation of law is erotic attachment.

Volume

29

Issue

1

First Page

167

Last Page

172

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

DOI

10.1080/1535685X.2016.1246913

Disciplines

Law | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Comments

Special Issue: Festschrift for Richard H. Weisberg

Recommended Citation

Arthur Jacobson, The Messiah and the Law, 29 Law & Literature 167 (2017).
10.1080/1535685X.2016.1246913