The Role of Jewish Law in the Courts of the Holy Roman Empire, ca. 1785

Professor Ted Fram from Ben Gurion University, Israel, will be a visiting professor at the Faculty the week of February 25, 2019. He will be giving a public lecture on “The Role of Jewish Law in the Courts of the Holy Roman Empire, ca. 1785”

Abstract

Western European Jewish communities are generally thought to have been on the wane with the dawn of the Enlightenment. Changes are thought to have weakened Jewish life and law. An examination of legal history, shows that this was not the case. Jewish law was well recognized by the state and legal practitioners in the Holy Roman Empire. We will look at case brought before the Imperial Aulic Court (Reichshofgericht) in the 1780s to prove this.

About the speaker

Edward Fram is a senior lecturer in the department of history at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His major area of interest is the history of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe in the pre-modern age, with a focus on the history of Jewish law and how it was adapted to face new situations.

A light lunch will be served.