Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network

Episode Title: Zev Eleff et al. eds., "The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Law" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Geraldine Goutifin
Guests: Zev Eleff, Roberta Kwall, Chaim Saiman

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode centers on "The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Law," a landmark, interdisciplinary volume that surveys the vast landscape of Jewish law (halacha) across history, denominations, and place. The discussion explores the handbook’s genesis, its distinctive approach to the field, the range of perspectives included, and evolving questions of authority, practice, and adaptation in Jewish law—offering insight into this ancient yet continuously evolving legal tradition.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Genesis of the Handbook and Collaborative Approach

Host asks about the origins of the project and the editors' backgrounds.

• Roberta Kwall traces the project's beginnings to a chance proposal from Oxford University Press after her previous book. Initially hesitant due to her own background (not a yeshiva-trained scholar), she saw value in assembling a multidisciplinary team, bringing in Zev Eleff (historian with rabbinic training) and Chaim Saiman (legal scholar).
  • “I do believe that we’re presented with opportunities for reasons ... this could really be a good thing generally.” (Roberta, 03:10)
• Chaim Saiman highlights the unique challenge: most academic study of halacha is historical, rather than legal. The team wanted halacha viewed as a legal system in its own right, not just a subset of Jewish studies.
  • “So much of the field is dominated by [history], though the materials are legal ... and at that point ... I thought this would be a great opportunity to think more deeply about what an Oxford Handbook on Jewish Law would mean.” (Chaim, 04:39)
• Zev Eleff emphasizes combining the historian’s critical lens with close reading of original texts—something rare and valuable—plus the lack of a “center of gravity” in the history of halacha, compared to other fields.
  • “There is no real center of gravity in the history of halacha ... we really tried ... to bring together the textualism of legal theory with a healthy dose of historicization ... to compel more work.” (Zev, 07:45)

2. Defining Halacha / Jewish Law

The challenge of explanation for both lay audiences and students.

• Roberta:
  • “Jewish law is not just about religion or religious practices ... it’s really about an integrated system in terms of almost every single facet of human behavior.” (Roberta, 11:03)
• Chaim:
  • Halacha both exceeds and falls short of “law” as modern Westerners understand it—less about the state and enforcement, more pervasive in human experience and thought-shaping:
  • “The term law is both under and over inclusive of what halacha is.” (Chaim, 11:56)
  • Jewish law does not have the sharp boundaries between law/morality/religion/society as in Western legal-political theory.
• Zev:
  • Contextualizes halacha through comparisons with other legal systems, authority, and charisma:
  • “You don’t understand a system of law unless you understand multiple ... much of the book ... grapples with the idea of enforceability and how others read texts that came before ... the role of authority.” (Zev, 14:47)

3. Structure of the Handbook

Three main parts, each approaching the field differently; extensive interdisciplinarity.

• Part I: Historical/Layered Approach (Chaim)
  • Each period’s authorities interpret predecessors: how Mishnah reads Torah, Talmud reads Mishnah, medievals read Talmud, etc.
  • “We tried to tell a more historically or periodized story, but from the perspective of how one layer of text reads texts that are seen as its precedent or source of authority.” (Chaim, 16:11)
• Part II: Concepts and Institutions
  • Focused on distinctive hallmarks like Torah study, stringency, codification, communal customs, and reading practices.
  • Offers a synthetic, not only historical, understanding.
• Part III: Modernity and Practice (Roberta)
  • Addresses how halacha engages contemporary realities—movements/denominations, Zionism, technology (inc. COVID), personhood, etc.
  • Notably features a diversity of denominational voices and examines debates over modern issues like gender, sexuality, and family.

4. Diversity, Denominational Dynamics, and Authority

The handbook intentionally includes a variety of voices and acknowledges ongoing interpretive debates.

• Explicitly avoids the stereotype that halacha belongs solely to Orthodoxy.
• “One of the strengths of our book is that we have a range of authors in terms of denominations and their practices ... the idea of how halacha responds to modernity ... the modernity section enabled us to include a section on halacha and personhood.” (Roberta, 19:44)
• Even within denominations, approaches to law are contested and evolving, especially in areas like family, gender, technology.

5. Authority, Lived Religion, and Law Beyond Text

How do text and practice interact across Jewish history—and what does 'authority' mean in Jewish law?

• Zev:

  • “This one, Bobby and I especially were following Supreme Court cases in Live Moment and making edits ... how do changes in perceptions of the family change ... whether that be the rise of divorce, in vitro fertilization, gender and homosexuality ... how do different groups mediate Jewish law?” (Zev, 24:43)
  • Stresses the “layer-ality” of Jewish law—the way contemporary practice interprets past sources, sometimes in radical ways.

• Geraldine (host):

  • Raises dichotomies between “folk” or “lived” halacha and textual halacha; asks what insights a law-and-society approach yields.

• Chaim:

  • Discusses the inversion of “law and sovereignty” typical in Jewish history: law flourishing in exile as opposed to as a tool of state power.
  • “The story of halacha is almost inverted, right when the temple is destroyed ... the flowering of halacha comes after that ... which sets the agenda and heightens some of these tensions.” (Chaim, 31:36)

6. Case Studies: Editors’ Own Chapters

Each editor describes the focus and insights of their own contribution.

Zev Eleff: Family and Halacha in Modernity

• Family life as a lens into societal, halachic, and denominational change.
• Examines issues like divorce, in vitro fertilization, gender, and how postwar societal changes reshape halachic discourse.
  • “How do changes in perceptions of the family change ... whether the rise of divorce ... or gender and homosexuality?” (Zev, 25:58)
• Notes how different denominations problematize or reinterpret authority and textual authenticity in response.

Roberta Kwall: Lawmaking in the Conservative Movement

• Struggles and strategies of Conservative Judaism in balancing tradition, communal norms, and halachic legitimacy.
• Reveals long-standing challenges—e.g., vehicular travel on Shabbat, use of electronics, Zoom—through analysis of historical sources and communal responses.
  • “The middle is always the hardest place to be, and the Conservative movement has really documented that ... the more society is pushing you leftward in terms of social policy, the harder it is to stay grounded.” (Roberta, 37:09)
• Raises doubts about the sustainability of this balancing act in an era of changing Jewish identity.

Chaim Saiman: Halachic Formalism in Orthodoxy

• Unpacks debates about whether Jewish law is more/less formalistic than modern law.
• Explores the meaning and limits of formalism, originalism, and textualism in halacha vs. American law.
• “There’s a reason people keep on thinking of halacha as formalistic, right? There’s a there there, but ... more complexity ... [in modern Orthodoxy,] when you have to push everything on the law, not because you identify with its underlying norms ... that’s where these questions ... come up.” (Chaim, 44:27)
• Highlights how tension between social consensus and formal halacha is most acute in “the middle”—i.e., modern Orthodoxy.

7. Authority, Theology, and Faith

Delving into the handbooks’ central premise: How does Jewish law understand its own authority?

• Roberta:
  • [Thoughtful pause:]
  • “In some ways that kind of gets to the $64 million question ... that’s what theology and what’s the place of God, right? ... Jewish law ... is not something that you just want to have in a little box and preserve for historical purposes. If we can’t transmit it to future generations in a meaningful way, then it’s just a historical artifact.” (Roberta, 54:04; 34:22)
• Chaim:
  • Authority is both ultimately divine and pervasively rabbinic; much of halacha is rabbinic in origin, and its legitimacy as much social as theological.
  • The Talmud’s discourse can be strikingly non-theological, resembling property/contract law but always underpinned by presumed religious meaning.
  • “If you wanted to keep Shabbat the way the rabbis understand the Bible requires it ... it’s a very different Shabbat than we’ve come to know.” (Chaim, 56:51)
• Both suggest: ongoing conversation about why we practice has been comparatively thin in modern (esp. American) Jewish life, and demands renewed attention.

8. Current and Future Directions in Jewish Law Scholarship

Upcoming conference, reflections on research trends and challenges.

• Conference at Penn Law School: Will explore:
  • Comparative perspectives with Christian/Islamic law handbooks (What does it mean to frame religious traditions as law? Audiences, outcomes, issues of church/state)
  • The move of Jewish law from humanities departments into law schools: “What happens when you move these things into the law schools? ... What are the affordances of that structure...?" (Chaim, 60:47)
• Research Trends:
  • Roberta: Working on American Jewish disunity post-October 7, and the centrality of Israel to American Jewish life and halacha. Looks optimistically to vibrant experimental “third space” communities (e.g., Hadar, Open Orthodoxy) as promising for Jewish religious vitality.
  • Chaim: Interested in the generation of authority in halachic communities absent enforcement power—using big data to examine rabbinic courts, networks of influence, and transmission of norms. Sees modern Jewish law as a laboratory for understanding legal authority in “voluntary” frameworks.
    • “How do communities create authority? ... Judaism ... is this interesting island to think about that ... particularly in our world ... now in a moment of the tear down of institutions all across society.” (Chaim, 67:42)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Roberta Kwall
  • “Jewish law is not just about religious practices ... it’s an integrated system in terms of almost every facet of human behavior.” (11:03)
  • “For me, without talking about transmission of the tradition ... If we can't transmit it to future generations in a meaningful way, then it's just a historical, you know, artifact … that's not the purpose of Torah.” (34:22)
• Chaim Saiman
  • “The term law is both under and over inclusive of what halacha is.” (11:56)
  • “Some people are like, no, Jewish law is way more formalistic than modern legal systems...And then there's this other school of thought says, no, no, no, Jewish law is way less formalistic ... I'm like, well, are we arguing about Jewish law, about American law, about both, like, what's going on here?” (44:27)
  • “Judaism ... is this interesting island ... when it comes to tearing down institutions, yet observant Judaism is constructing them all along in new ways.” (67:42)
• Zev Eleff
  • “There is no real center of gravity in the history of halacha ... We really, really don’t think—and really do hope—this is not the final word. To the contrary, ... this will really encourage others to think differently and interdisciplinarily.” (07:45)
  • “How do all the different forces mediate Jewish law? Jewish law necessarily interacts with modernity, and everybody's modernity changes over time.” (25:59)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Introduction, Guest Backgrounds: 00:05 – 04:33
• Origins of the Handbook: 03:10 – 07:23
• Defining Halacha/Jewish Law: 10:16 – 15:43
• Structure of the Handbook: 16:11 – 23:13
• Diversity, Denominational and Authority Issues: 23:44 – 31:36
• Case Studies (Editors’ Chapters):
  • Zev, Modern Family: 24:43 – 30:28
  • Roberta, Conservative Movement: 36:39 – 43:52
  • Chaim, Halachic Formalism & Orthodoxy: 44:27 – 52:35
• Authority, Lived Religion, and Theology: 54:04 – 60:21
• Future Directions, Upcoming Conference: 60:44 – 71:28

Concluding Thoughts

The editors emphasize that "The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Law" is not a capstone, but a catalyst—a field-shaping work designed to inspire interdisciplinary study, honest confrontation with contemporary challenges, and ongoing dialogue across denominations and scholarly disciplines. The episode gives listeners a front-row seat to key debates and evolving trends in the world of Jewish law.

For listeners seeking a rich, nuanced understanding of halacha—its history, internal diversity, legal logic, and challenges of modernity—this conversation delivers a comprehensive and accessible guide.