As we celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut 5776/2016, we turn to an old question about Jewish law and political sovereignty: does halakhah, traditional Jewish law, provide for the existence and functioning of the modern Jewish state of Israel? We don’t have in mind here the fundamental issue of whether traditional Jewish law permits the Jewish people to form a sovereign political entity prior to the coming of the Messiah. We’re talking rather about something more mundane but no less essential: does halakhah recognize the legitimacy of Israel’s law and legal system? Continue reading Does Jewish Law Recognize the State of Israel? →