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Dina de-malkhuta dina
(2,993 words)

Literally translated, the Aramaic formulation dina de-malkhuta dina means “the law of the kingdom is the [valid] law.” This rabbinic legal principle governs the recognition of other laws within Jewish religious law, the Halakhah. Foreign law thus takes the form of an external, more powerful system, whether this is a theoretically constructed Jewish kingdom or a non-Jewish state. The changing concepts of sovereignty and law necessit…

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Gotzmann, Andreas, “Dina de-malkhuta dina”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0182>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20180401



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