brill.com/jlrs Journal of Law, Religion & State 1 (2012) 309–337 © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013 DOI 10.1163/22124810-00103003 Jewish Law and Matters of State: Theory, Policy, and Practice Yedidia Stern Law Faculty, Bar-Ilan University Vice President, The Israel Democracy Institute E-mail: yedidia@idi.org.il Abstract In recent years Jewish religious leaders have often expressed religious opinions in matters concerning the foreign and security policy of the State of Israel. The present article focuses on the internal religious legitimacy of halakhic rulings in these matters and reveals the prerequisites that decisors must satisfy before voicing a binding halakhic opinion on issues concerning the Israeli Arab conflict, peace agreements, Jewish settlements in Judah and Samaria, etc. The article is divided into three parts that answer the following questions: (a) are matters of State policy subject to halakhic norms or are they situated outside the realm of Halakha? (b) does Halakha have a judicial policy seeking to rule on these issues? (c) what are the practical difficulties that decisors face if they wish to rule on them? The article points out the diversity of internal halakhic opinions on the questions under investigation, and outlines an analytical method for a halakhic discussion aimed at answering them. Keywords religion and national policy; religious law and public law; halakhic boundaries; Halakha and issues of national policy 1. Introduction Political and diplomatic efforts by the state of Israel toward reconciliation with its neighbors have served as a catalyst for religious thought in the political, ideological, and normative domains.1 In this context, in the last two decades we have witnessed statements of halakhic opinions by rabbinic authorities of various orthodox streams dealing explicitly with 1 Differentiating these domains is not always easy, and perhaps not always possible. See, for example, Itzhak Englard, “The Halakhic Problem of Surrendering Parts of the Land of Israel: Law and Ideology”, 41 Hapraklit (1993-1994) 13 [Heb].