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This book examines the political thought of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the most important thirteenth century German Rabbi.
List of contents
Part I. Introduction: 1. Framing the discussion: overview of the literature; 2. Methodology: identifying the relevant texts; 3. Methodology: Halakha and Agada - laws, principles, and ideology; 4. Overview of the book; Part II. Historical Background: 5. R. Meir of Rothenburg and his teachers and students; 6. The history of the Jewish people and Jewish communities in Germany and Northern France (1000-1300); 7. The development of Talmudic exegesis in Germany and Northern France (1000-1300); 8. Highlights of R. Meir's biography; 9. D. R. Meir's Halakhic approach; 10. Political theory in Germany and Northern France (1000-1300); Part III. Politics as Private Interest: 11. Community as partnership; 12. The role of custom in monetary laws; 13. Beyond partnership: the community as corporation; Part IV. The Sacred Nature of the Political Sphere: 14. The common good; 15. Majority-rule; 16. Agency and representation; 17. The theological definition of community; Part V. Conclusion: 18. Politics as extra-legal activity: ambiguity in R. Meir's works; 19. The theology of unity and despotism.
About the author
Joseph Isaac Lifshitz is a senior lecturer at the Shalem College and a fellow of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center at Tel Aviv University. He also teaches Talmud at R' Yitzchak Yechiel Yeshiva in Jerusalem. His research areas include Jewish philosophy, Talmud, Jewish law, Jewish history, and political theory. He has published widely on the law and philosophy of the Sabbath and on Jewish economic thought.
Summary
This book is a scholarly examination of the political thought of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the most important thirteenth century German Rabbi. From the Maharam's responsa on community matters, a coherent political thought emerges that exercised nearly unprecedented influence on European Jewish communities up to the Jewish Emancipation.
