Halacha and Law

The academic study of 'halacha', like its traditional study in the yeshiva, is far broader than the study of 'Jewish law'. The halacha, in both its scope and concerns, goes well beyond the scope and concerns of that section of it which has counterparts in secular, Western legal systems. For the purposes of this article, 'Jewish law' is that latter subsection of the halacha, a subsection moreover which has attracted the particular attentions of scholars trained in secular jurisprudence. This article surveys trends in the field, in relation to both halacha and Jewish Law, in terms of the fourfold division - historical, dogmatic, comparative, and philosophical.