Issue Spotting is an essential legal skill. The Torah Portion Vayeitzei provides a target rich environment to employ it to address Decalogue and Decalogue-adjacent issues. The Portion offers an opportunity to unleash one’s inner barrister! For those wanting to taste the legal profession or a Bar Exam, this Post invites you into an attorney’s mindset.Continue reading “Issue Spotting: Vayeitzei’s Ten Commandments’ Moment”
Category Archives: law
Emor: The Big Message?
“All Animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” George Orwell In the Torah, death penalties stand out. Seemingly slight offenses, i.e. gathering wood on the Sabbath, Numbers 15:32-36, have been subject to capital punishment. In these instances which include the severe sanction, is Torah actually intending to send a biggerContinue reading “Emor: The Big Message?”
Ten Commandments’ Secularity Best Explained?
Great things often are set in stone. One of them is a Martin Luther King, Jr. quotation. It may best explain the Ten Commandments’ secular value. While recently in San Diego, I came upon it in a park filled with his quotations. “Morals cannot be legislated but behavior can be regulated,” he declared. This quoteContinue reading “Ten Commandments’ Secularity Best Explained?”
The Top Ten? The Big Ten? Yitro
“As horrible as this is (especially in light the Aqedah), it conveys the seriousness of this commandment and of the principle that the Ten Commandments outweigh other laws.” Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on The Torah In legal systems, some laws override others. For example, the United States essentially has two forms of law- State andContinue reading “The Top Ten? The Big Ten? Yitro”
Lost In Translation? “Shall” or “May”
Legalese is full of magical incantation; alchemous word precision can secure financial victory or exact an extended incarceration. With these stakes, Judges and Lawyers use their words wisely. Ambiguity within legalese is the murky moat of despair. As such, translations of legal works can serve as bucketfuls of polluted moat water. Unclear, imprecise and biasedContinue reading “Lost In Translation? “Shall” or “May””
A Ten Commandments’ Moment From Mishpatim: God As My Witness?
As a practicing lawyer for over 33 years, I have spent decades litigating newly enacted legislation. No matter how well-crafted or conceived, laws always contain ambiguity. After the provision of the Ten Commandments in the Yitro, the Torah Portion Mishpatim follows with the announcement of seminal laws shaping Judaism. One of the most notable from Mishpatim is theContinue reading “A Ten Commandments’ Moment From Mishpatim: God As My Witness?”
How To Make A Winning Argument, Pinchas
if you are ever sued by the law firm mahlah, noah, hoglah, milcah, and tirzah, watch out! in the pinchas torah portion, this firm won an eternal landmark case before the highest of authorities. the portion pinchas notes that ” the daughters of zelophehad the son of hepher, the son of gilead, the son ofContinue reading “How To Make A Winning Argument, Pinchas”
A Modern Hypothetical?
the jta’s youth journalism fellowship article discussed the “jewish” stake in the right to terminate a pregnancy. the article touched on that “amanda kleinman, senior cantor at the westchester reform temple in scarsdale, new york, reviewed biblical texts that convey understandings of abortion in judaism. kleinman cited a case from exodus where a pregnant woman sustains anContinue reading “A Modern Hypothetical?”
The Problem Was Solved Thousands of Years Ago, The Portion “Bo, ” Exodus 12:49: A Ten Commandments’ Tale
There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who resides in your midst. exodus 12:49 the torah portion ‘bo,” which tells of the happenings right before the children of israel depart from egypt in their exodus is rich with material. the line: “there shall be one law for the native andContinue reading “The Problem Was Solved Thousands of Years Ago, The Portion “Bo, ” Exodus 12:49: A Ten Commandments’ Tale”
The Ten Commandments Project 