Reason and Justification in the Mishnah: Exploring the Significance of the 'Half-Damage' Rule

Noam Zohar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Are the norms of Jewish religious law grounded in reason and values? In classical rabbinic discourse, justifications for laws - whether by direct reasoning (sevara), or more commonly, by scriptural derivation (Midrash) - are prevalent in most extant collections, where they serve to express underlying values. Justifications are rare, however, in the core document of the tradition, the Mishnah. But the absence of overt justification should not be taken to signify a lack of an underlying value-laden worldview. Careful analysis of an unusual mishnaic clause reveals a message about the reasonableness and significance of the rabbinic "half-damage" rule, sharply divergent from the plain meaning of the biblical text, which is perceived as inherently unfair. This serves as an instructive example of how exploring the Mishnah as a work of literary art can reveal the reason and values of halakhic norms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)250-262
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Law, Religion and State
Volume2
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Keywords

  • Judaism
  • goring ox
  • halakhah
  • hermeneutics
  • midrash
  • mishnah
  • public reason
  • revelation and reason

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reason and Justification in the Mishnah: Exploring the Significance of the 'Half-Damage' Rule'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this