Between the Laws of God and Man - Paperback

by Reuven Travis (Author), Michael J. Broyde (Foreword by)

How does one navigate living religiously in a secular world? Where life is governed not just by the laws of faith, but by the laws of the state as well, what does ""doing the right thing"" actually mean? When people think about the interplay between religious and secular law, certain meta-issues arise, such as, how does one weigh what is legal (which secular law demands) versus what is right (that is, the moral code which religion expects its followers to adhere to)? Such questions inevitably lead one to ponder the purpose of law as well as its underlying expectations. This book tackles such questions, from the perspective of a Jewish educator who has lived his life according to two distinct (and sometimes conflicting) legal systems: halakha (Jewish law) and the United States Code (U.S. legal code). With this as a starting point, Between the Laws of God and Man explores key core elements of Jewish and secular law to determine commonalities, divergences, and implications for each.

Author Biography

Reuven Travis taught a wide range of classes over his twenty-year career as an educator, including Jewish law, Bible, and Jewish history. He holds a master's degree in teaching from Mercer University and a master's in Judaic studies from Spertus College. He has published three scholarly works on the book of Job, the book of Numbers, and the book of Genesis, respectively.