Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, “The Myth of the Cultural Jew: Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition” (Oxford UP, 2015)

In The Myth of the Cultural Jew: Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2015), Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, the Raymond P. Niro Professor of Intellectual Property Law at DePaul University College of Law, applies a cultural analysis framework to Jewish law, to show that Jewish culture has a grounding in Jewish law. The evolution of Jewish law is guided and shaped by human elements and shifting power dynamics. Kwall argues that both law and culture are necessary for forging meaningful Jewish identity.