ABSTRACT
The enormous distance between the framers of the United States constitution and the rabbis of Jewish law can be expressed both in terms of time and geography, not to mention differences in social outlook, legal philosophy, and world view. The classic rabbinic conception of the Jewish legal system includes the notion that ever since the law, both written and oral, was transmitted to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, courts of justice have existed and administered the whole of the law. The historical accuracy of such a notion is not in point; it is part and parcel of the rabbinic jurisprudential theory that undergirds the millenial operation of Jewish law from its beginnings to the present. The authorities comment specifically on the matter of immediate and irreparable loss as a factor in understanding the Tosafot. This subject is introduced as a major desideratum in most of the commentary.
