Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg and the Foundation of Jewish Political Thought

by Joseph Isaac Lifshitz

This book is a scholarly examination of the political thought of Rabbi Meir (Maharam) of Rothenburg, the most important thirteenth century German Rabbi who was associated with the Pietist movement of the period. 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. Rabbi Meir's extremely sophisticated attempt to balance the demands of the community against those of the individual was facilitated by a characteristic three-tiered structure to his political concrete legal rules supported by value-laden legal principles built upon his general religious ideology. Through a systematic analysis of the Maharam's political thought, Isaac Lifshitz offers an original contribution to Jewish studies, political theory, and the study of legal philosophy. By considering the legal and theological underpinnings of one of Medieval Jewry's most influential figures, it also makes a contribution to the history of ideas in the Medieval period.

273 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2015

Reviews

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book (based on a dissertation) focuses on Rabbi Meir's responsa addressing self-government by Jewish communities. He generally favored decision-making by consensus, but allowed majority-rule decisionmaking where absolutely necessary- all of which seems like common sense, at least from a 21st century standpoint. Like any good Ph.D. candidate, the author adds a lot of detail on how Meir reached his conclusions; he emphasizes that Meir viewed Jewish communities as analogous to a private partnership, and that he viewed Jewish unity as an important value.