A Science Like Any Other? Classical Legal Formalism in the Halakhic Jurisprudence of Rabbis Isaac Jacob Reines and Moses Avigdor Amiel

Abstract

This paper explores the halakhic jurisprudence of Rabbis Isaac Jacob Reines (1839-1915) and Moses Avigdor Amiel (1882-1945). In particular, it examines the way in which these two figures' conception of Jewish law as a logical, systematic, and self-perpetuating body of principles and particulars paralleled developments in legal formalism in the late nineteenth century.

Part I gives a brief overview of the formalist jurisprudence of the German Historical School (historicism) and Classical Legal Thought (classicism). It also introduces Reines, Amiel, and the context in which they lived. Part II discusses the ways in which Reines and Amiel grappled with the difficulties in connecting the Written and Oral Law and in positing a logical and systematic worldview of halakha. It also highlights the similarities between Reines’ and Amiel’s approaches and those of historicism and classicism. Part III explores how legal formalism and other schools of thought might have influenced Reines and Amiel, and also discusses the overall impact of Reines’ and Amiel’s ideas on halakhic jurisprudence.

Keywords: formalism, halakha, logic, Jewish law, Briskers