Natural Law in Judaism

by David Novak

Natural law is the idea that our basic moral principles apply to every human being, and are accessible to human reason. Most people have assumed that since Judaism seems to consist of a specific historical revelation and a specific tradition, that an idea such as natural law is foreign to it. This book shows that natural law is part of Judaism, and that it is consistent with its specific revelation and tradition. In this book, not only is the history of an idea shown with great accuracy, but the idea of natural law is presented as a way of conveying some of Judaism's meaning for life today.

Genres: Judaism, Theology, Philosophy

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable collection of lectures on the topic of natural law and Judaism (Novak is a much better writer than most academics - since the ability to write is normally beaten out of you by graduate school). After first defining natural law theory (tracing it to Locke) and distinguishing natural rights from human rights, Novak delves into a justification of a natural law tradition in Judaism on theological grounds and then philosophical grounds. His theological and philosophical grounds are based on traditional Jewish sources - Hebrew Bible, midrash, Talmud, and medieval philosophers, primarily Saadia Gaon and Maimonides.

The book is really written for natural law theorists, since I fail to see the relevance of the topic to the average Jew's life.