Jewish Law Association 

JLA 2024 International Conference at Harvard Law School

Canon, Authority, and the Creation of Halakhah

August 19-21, 2024


Registration


To pay 2024 membership dues go to https://jewishlawassociation.org/membership

Pay $200 conference fee

Conference fee for JLA members: $200

Pay $100 reduced fee

Conference fee for JLA members who are unwaged graduate student paper givers: $100.

Pay $260 conference fee

Conference fee for non-JLA members: $260

CONFERENCE FEE INCLUDES

Entrance to all conference sessions

Dinner: Monday, Tuesday

Lunch: Tuesday, Wednesday

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Accommodation (not included) near Harvard’s campus:

Irving House (modest)

Sheraton Commander (mid-range)

Charles Hotel (luxury)




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 Jewish Law Association (JLA) Conference Call For Papers

August 19-21, 2024

Harvard Law School

 

Canon, Authority, and the Creation of Halakhah

 

The Jewish Law Association is seeking papers on the topic of Canon, Authority, and the Creation of Halakhah. The JLA International 2024 Conference will take place at the Harvard Law School and will be co-hosted by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law. This conference seeks to expose and to explore the myriad ways that ideas, definitions, and rhetoric of canon and authority provide the impression of inevitability in halakhic decision-making. We aim to explore both the ways in which halakhic decision-making establishes ideas of canonicity (what is “inside” what is “outside” the canon) and the ways in which the establishment of a canon, as well as its sometimes-unclarified border, shapes halakhic decision-making. We seek papers that interrogate a variety of historical periods (ancient to contemporary), geographic locations, genres and literatures from a wide range of academic perspectives. We also encourage papers that tackle these questions from a pedagogical perspective. 

 

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

 

  • Rabbinical Courts’ Decision Rhetoric

  • Biblical Verses as Prooftexts in Rabbinic Halakhah

  • The Canonical Status of Specific Sages, Rulings, and Texts

  • Halakhot (and Practices?) Beyond the Canon

  • Silencing and Censoring Halakhic Views in Rabbinic Literature

  • Gender and Contemporary Halakhah

  • Folk Halakhah Jurisprudence and the Formation of Halakhah

  • Minhag and Halakhah

  • The Role of Posek: Lawyer, Judge, or Someone Else?




Panels may consist of either three fifteen-minute papers and a respondent, or three twenty-minute papers with a moderator. Panels are encouraged to propose a moderator but may request that one be assigned. 

 

We encourage panelists to submit proposals as a pre-arranged panel, but we will also consider individual proposals.

 

Proposals for papers should be no more than 250 words. Panel proposals should include a panel abstract of no more than 150 words. All proposals must be in English.

 

Limited funding will be available for graduate students. If you are interested in being considered for funding, please indicate it on your application. 

 

Paper and panel proposals are due by February 5, 2024 at 5pm EST. 

Applicants will be notified by April 8, 2024. 
All panelists must be JLA members in good standing. 

 

Organizing Committee

Ronit Irshai

Jane Kanarek

Miryam Segal

Rachel Slutsky 

Elana Stein Hain

Yael Wilfand