This volume contributes to the growing field of comparative Jewish and American law, presenting twenty-six essays characterized by a number of distinct features. The essays will appeal to legal scholars and, at the same time, will be accessible and of interest to a more general audience of intellectually curious readers. These contributions are faithful to Jewish law on its own terms, while applying comparative methods to offer fresh perspectives on complex issues in the Jewish legal system. Through careful comparative analysis, the essays also turn to Jewish law to provide insights into substantive and conceptual areas of the American legal system, particularly areas of American law that are complex, controversial, and unsettled.
Levinesrecently published two-volume work,Jewish Law and American Law: AComparative Study, is primarily a collection of his impressive contributionsto the Jewish comparative project over the past three decades. A quick perusalof the two volumes serves as a ready reminder of why Levine has long been oneof the academics central to Jewish laws rise in the American legal academy. Coveringhis wide range of Jewish law writings, the two volumes traverse significantlegal terrain, focusing on the areas of Levines primary scholarly emphasis. & Forthose interested in both Jewish law in particular, and religious law in general,[Jewish Law and American Law] serve[s]as [an] extraordinary exploration within the Jewish comparative law project. MichaelA. Helfand,American Journal ofComparative Law, Vol. 67 No. 1
These essential volumes collect Professor Levines vast writings on Jewish and American law in one helpful title. By bringing together Professor Levines writing in this way, it is possible to appreciate the breadth and depth of his scholarship. David Hollander, Librarian for Law and Legal Studies; Librarian for Judaic Studies and Hebrew, Princeton University LibraryThis highly interesting two-volume collection ilc(