ABSTRACT
The responsa literature is the third major type of literary source of Jewish law in the post-Talmudic period. . . . The responsa literature is unique in many respects: its essential character, which is unlike the other types of post-Talmudic halakhic literature; its subject matter; its importance for mishpat ivri in particular, as well as for Jewish law in general; its significant contribution to the history of the liter ary sources of the various periods of Jewish law; and the rich storehouse of infor mation it provides about the history of the Jewish people in its different centers.1
