Event
One of the revolutions of Biblical law, which had an enduring impact on the Western tradition, is the idea of socio-economic legislation. The purpose of many biblical laws is to transfer resources to the disadvantaged. This lecture will reveal some of the surprising – and hidden – aspects of Biblical law’s social justice revolution.
Dr. Benjamin Porat, Penn Law's 2019-2020 Gruss Visiting Professor of Law, Vice Dean and Director of the Israel Matz Institute for Jewish Law, Joseph H. and Belle Braun Senior Lectureship in Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The lecture will be followed by a reception. Dietary laws will be observed.
Benjamin Porat is a scholar of Jewish law. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Director of the Matz Institute for Research in Jewish Law, at the Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Porat has served as a visiting professor at Georgetown Law and University of British Columbia. He completed his PhD at the Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University (LL.D. summa cum laude). After completing his doctorate in 2010, he was a Halbert Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto. Dr. Porat focuses on the areas of theory of Jewish law, contract law, and distributive justice. Dr. Porat is the editor of Shenaton ha’Mishpat ha’Ivri and a coeditor of the Jewish Law Annual. His works have appeared in numerous publications including University of Toronto Law Journal, American Journal of Comparative Law, Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Recently he published his new book, entitled “Justice for the Poor: The Principles of Welfare Regulations from Biblical Law to Rabbinic Literature” (Hebrew). Dr. Porat teaches variety of topics in Jewish Law, including Contracts, Theory of Private Law, Jurisprudence, Welfare Regulations, and Methods of Research.
This program has been approved for 1.0 ethics CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit should bring separate payment in the amount of $40.00 ($20.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys) cash or check made payable to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.
This is the Caroine Zelaznik Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Lecture in Talmudic Civil Law