Unequal Justice? Jew/Non-Jew Distinctions in Civil and Criminal Halakha

One of our basic democratic principles is that everyone deserves equal treatment under the law. In religious law, however, there tends to be a privileging of those who are members of the faith over those who are not. While this makes sense in matters of ritual, it would seem deeply unfair, indeed unethical, to apply such distinctions to matters of civil and criminal law. In this lecture, we will see how halakha initially gave warrant for unequal treatment of non-Jews and how over time, due to changing circumstances and attitudes, a number of major halakhic decisors minimized or eliminated these distinctions.

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Rabbi Dov Linzer is the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School and holds the Norman and Tova Bulow Rosh HaYeshiva Chair. He is the primary architect of YCT’s groundbreaking curriculum of Torah, Halakha, pastoral counseling and professional training. He teaches regular classes in advanced Talmud, advanced Halakha and the thought of Modern Orthodoxy, and serves as a religious guide to the yeshiva’s 34 rabbinical students and its 100 + rabbis currently serving in the field. Rabbi Linzer has been a leading rabbinic voice in the Modern Orthodox community for over 20 years, and teaches a Daf Yomi shiur which is available on Youtube and iTunes. He publishes regular teshuvot on a wide variety of topics, and is the co-host of the highly popular Joy of Text podcast.

LM