Jewish Integration into American Society: Legal Perspectives
American Jews live in accordance with two parallel and sometimes competing legal systems: the American courts and the corpus of Jewish law. Do these two legal structures come into tension for observant American Jews? How do American courts address Jewish legal issues, and how does Jewish law understand the authority of American legal structures and obligations? This course will examine case studies that highlight these issues—including Eruv litigation, the enforcement of kosher laws, and the autonomy of the Jewish educational system. This discussion will allow us to also think about the future of religious liberty for Jews (and perhaps other law-centered traditional religious groups) in America.
Adina Levine
Adina C. Levine/Rydzinski has served as an adjunct professor at Touro Law School in Jewish Law, MMY, Drisha, and Yeshiva University Stern College for Women, teaching a wide range of law courses including Constitutional Law, Women and the Law, and Comparative American law and Talmudic law. Professor Levine/Rydzinski received her JD from Harvard Law School, with a focus on comparative law. Professor Levine/Rydzinski holds a MA in Jewish Education from Azrieli Graduate School for Jewish Education, with a focus on secondary Jewish education. Prior to attending law school, Professor Levine/Rydzinski participated in the Avi Chai Program for Advanced Talmudic Studies at Yeshiva University and received her BA in Journalism from Stern College for Women as a Golding Distinguished Scholar. When she is not teaching, Professor Levine/Rydzinski is a seasoned commercial litigation lawyer with over thirteen years of experience in a wide range of commercial disputes, with a focus on M&A litigation, securities law, appellate writing, and contractual work.
Meet the Instructor
Tikvah aims to make all of our courses available to as many qualified students as possible. In the event that Tikvah needs to add additional sections, this course may be taught by a different faculty member with a similarly high level of expertise.