עברית

Prof. Haim Shapira

Telephone
03-5317087
Email
Haim.Shapira@biu.ac.il
Office
Building 306, Room 206
Reception Hours
Meetings should be coordinated in advance
Short Biography

Haim Shapira teaches variety of courses in Jewish law, legal theory and law and religion. His main fields of interest are historical and theoretical aspect of Jewish law. He has written on different periods of Jewish law including rabbinic literature, Maimonides and Medieval authorities and also on modern halakha. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and his LL.B and LL.M and Ph.D from the Hebrew University as well. Haim Shapira was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law, Religion and State and he is currently on its editorial board. He was also the editor-in-chief of Bar-Ilan Law Review. He is a co-editor of the fourth volume of the Jewish Political Tradition series, Yale University Press. Haim Shapira visited various institutions and universities was abroad. He was a fellow in the institute of Advanced Study in Princeton (2005-6), A Tikvah fellow at NYU law school (2013-14) and a visiting professor at the faculty of law at Milan University (2016). He was also a senior fellow at Shalom Hartmna Institute in Jerusalem for many years.

Research

Historical and theoretical aspects of Jewish law, rabbinic courts and academies, Jewish political thought, law and religion.

Publications

  1. Separation of Powers in Rabbinic Literature, JLRS (Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies), Oxford Journals 2024.

  2. The Court for Monetary Cases in Tannaitic Law, Jewish Law Annual, v. 32 (2024), pp. 679-724. [Hebrew]

  3. Adjudication and Judicial Discretion in Jewish Law, The Jewish Legal Tradition, (eds. A. Mermelstein, S. Stone, Y. Lorberbaum), 251-295, Routledge 2024.

  4. Religious Perspectives of Human Dignity in Israeli Case Law, Human Dignity, Judicial Reasoning and Law (ed. Brett Scharf), pp. 194-214. Routledge 2024.

  5. Rule of Law and Separation of Powers in Second Temple and Tannaitic Literature, Zion 88 (2022), pp. 287-298.

  6. The Courts in the Mishnah: Mishnah Sanhedrin Chapter 1 Revisited, Tarbitz v. 88 (2022), pp.139-182. [Hebrew]

  7. 'Shikull Ha-da'at' (Judicial Discretion) – A Talmudic Concept in light of Modern Legal Theory, Dinei Israel, v. 35-36 (2021), pp. 437-466. [Hebrew]

  8. Compassion in Judicial Decisions, Law, Society and Culture 3 (2020), Tel-Aviv University, 253-288 [Hebrew]

  9. The Virtue of Mercy according to Maimonides: Ethics, Law and Theology. Harvard Theological Review, 111 (2018), 559-585.

  10. The Virtue of Mercy according to Maimonides, Studies in Law and Halakha: Menachem Elon Memorial Volume (2018), 333-360 [Hebrew].

  11. The Halachic Status of Israeli Courts: Law, Ideology and Reality, Zionist Halacha, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem 2017, pp. 276-311 [Hebrew].

 

  1. Equality in Religious Schools: the JFS Case Reconsidered, Institutionalizing Rights and Religion (eds. L. Batnitzky, H. Dagan), Cambridge University Press (2016), pp 163-184.

  2. Marriage According to the Noahide Law- Between Law and Nature, Dinei Israel v. 30 (2015), pp. 19-42 [Hebrew].

  3. The Right for Political Participation in Jewish legal and Political Tradition, Religion and the Discourse of Human Rights, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem (eds. H. Dagan, S. Lifshitz, Y. Stern) (2014), pp. 266-296.

  4. Majority Rule in Jewish Law and Jewish Political Tradition, Hebrew Union College Annual 82-83 (2011-2012), pp. 159-208.

  5. 'For the Judgment is God's' – Human Judgment and Divine Justice, 27 Journal of Law and Religion (2012), pp. 273-328.

  6. Democratic Principles in the Jewish Legal and Political Tradition: the Kahal Reign and Majority Rule, In the Democratic Way: the Historical Sources of Israeli Democracy, (eds: A. Gal et al.), Ben-Gurion University Press 2012, pp. 15-53. [Hebrew].

  7. The Talmudic Debate over Compromise and the Goals of Judicial Process, Dinei Israel v. 26 (2010) pp. 183*-228*.

  8. ’For the Judgment is God’s’ – on the Metaphysics of Judging, Bar-Ilan Law Studies v. 26 (2010) pp. 51-89 [Hebrew].

  9. Maimonides’ Epistle on Martyrdom in light of Legal Philosophy (with Y. Lorberbaum), Dinei Israel v. 25 (2008), English section, pp. 123-169.

  10. The Law of the Pursuer and Source of Self –defense in Jewish Law, 16 Jewish Law Association (2007), pp. 263-283.

  11. The Schools of Hillel and Shammai, Jewish Law Annual v. 17(2007), pp. 159-208.

  12. The Court in Yavne: Status, Functions and Authority, in: Studies in Jewish Law: Judge and Judging (eds. Y. Habba, A. Radzyner) Bar-Ilan University 2007, pp. 305-334. [Hebrew]

  13. Maimonides’ Epistle on Martyrdom in light of Legal Philosophy, in Renewing Jewish Commitment (A. Sagi & Z. Zohar eds.), 2001, pp. 345-373 (with Yair Lorberbaum).[Hebrew].

  14. The House of Study- the Term and the Institution, Proceeding of the Twelfth World Congress of Jewish Studies B (Jerusalem, 2000), pp. 45-60 [Hebrew].

  15. Between Literature and History, 66 Zion (2001), pp. 371-378 [Hebrew].

  16. About The Patriarch and His Dynasty, 70 Zion (2005), 103-109 [Hebrew].

  17. The Deposition of Rabban Gamliel II: Between Legend and History, 64 Zion (1999), 5-38 [Hebrew].

  18. The Meta-Halachic Controversy Between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel, 22 Tel-Aviv U. Law Review (1999), pp. 461-497 (with M. Fisch) [Hebrew]. 

 

Last Updated Date : 29/05/2025