Jewish Law Annual. Volume X (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 158 Reviews argues that the unusual bond between the Jewish people and the Diaspora stems from the unbalanced relation between a dominant God and the sanctified and feared Homeland in Jewish consciousness. Itzhaki's thesis rests on the biblical phrase 'ehyeh 'aler 'ehyeh (Exod 3:14)-by which Yehudah Kaminka (the father) refers to himself-and the fact that he (the father) relates to the mother as the "homeland." In this case the intertextual analysis reveals a common denominator through which the meaning and the message of the novel are enriched and a new and very interesting reading is offered. In the third part of the book, Itzhaki summarizes his findings and conclusions . Since his study does not result in a new coherent thesis, the reader is again offered a list of the different sources that influenced each genre. The book's main contribution is toward a richer and deeper understanding of the individual worle Yehoshua's writings, however, and his lectures on Mr. Mani call for an analysis of his work in the light of psychoanalytic theories. His collective work would be better understood if Itzhaki's valuable links and insights were supplemented by additional studies, which explore the impact of psychoanalytic theories on Yehoshua's compositions. YudithNave Wellesley College Wellesley, MA 02181 JEWISH LAW ANNUAL. VOLUME X. Bernard S. Jackson, ed. Pp. 302. Philadelphia: Harwood Academic, 1992. Cloth. Each of the recent volumes of The Jewish Law Annual has followed the pattern of focusing on a given topic for Part 1, which comprises the bulk of the volume. Part 2, entitled "Chronicle," includes some summary articles on recent developments in selected areas of Jewish law, and Part 3 is a Survey of Recent Literature. This framework helps the scholar and the non-scholar alike keep up with current work in the field while also providing an opportunity , in Part 1, to examine a specific topic in depth-a most useful format. Dedicated to the general topic of "Parent and Child," Part 1 of this volume includes ten papers. In examining the law of the rebellious son (Exod 21 :15-17), Joseph Fleishman identifies the son's offense as his denial of the legal relationship between him and his parents and the legal obligations which derive from it. Alfredo Mordechai Rabello explores whether Herod was using that law to justify the execution of his own sons and concludes Hebrew Sludies 35 (1994) 159 Reviews that he quoted it for sympathy from his Jewish audience but was acting on the basis of his powers as a Hellenistic king. Parent-child relationships are the subject of the next three essays. Shlomo Nahmias points out that parents and children have obligations to each other in Jewish law, in contrast to the absolute rights which parents had over children in most other societies; that the mother and father have equal authority over the children in Jewish law, in contrast to the father's exclusive authority in most societies to modem times; and that, with only a few exceptions, parents trump third parties in making decisions for their children. Mordechai Frishtik, in addressing the topic of physical violence of parents against children, points out that Jewish law does not rely on criminal legislation or changes of custody alone to restrict violence, as other legal systems do; it also provides for monetary compensation to the child for any injuries incurred, thus focusing on the human worth of the child and the need for the court to act in his/her best interests. Moshe Zemer describes four specific cases which illustrate four different methods by which mamzerim (illegitimate children) were purified of that status, with clear implications for how that should and might be done in our own time as well. According to the Talmud (B. Kelubol65b), the mother is to have custody of children up to the age of six. Another passage (B. Kelubol 102b) implies that a daughter is to be with her mother even after that age, and it is generally understood in later Jewish law, although not supported by clear talmudic evidence. that sons beyond age six are to be in the custody of their father so that...