Jewish Law Symposium Examines Talmudic Take on Civil Rights

Some 200 attorneys and jurists packed a ballroom of the Madison Hotel in Morris Township, N.J., for two presentations dealing the nexus between civil rights law and Talmudic jurisprudence.

The topic for the second-annual Jewish Law Symposium, a project of Chabad-Lubavitch of Southeast Morris County, was “Democracy and the Uncertain Fate of Individual Rights.” Leading off the discussion was New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Barry T. Albin, who tackled the traditional American concept of civil rights; Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe, dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law, gave attendees the Jewish approach to the issue.

In a surprise appearance, the newly installed chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Stuart Rabner, shared a few words with the crowd before turning the dais over to Albin.

Participants could earn New York and Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education credits for their attendance.

“The laws and ethics of the Talmud have served as a cornerstone of humanity’s civil and moral infrastructure, while shaping it’s legal systems,” said Rabbi Shalom Lubin, founder of the Jewish Law Symposium and executive director of the sponsoring Chabad House.”