Between the Laws of God and Man

“We live in a precarious time when Christian nationalists and radical Islamists are hellbent on reviving age-old imperialist aspirations and spreading “biblical" and Sharia law to societies far and wide. For all peace-loving participants in our unfinished projects of peoplehood, Travis's exploration of one of the finest rabbinic principles (“the law of the land is law”) is an incredibly rich resource.”


— Jacob L. Wright, author of Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins.





“Jewish people have lived for centuries under the dual imperatives of an encompassing religious legal system (known as halacha) as well as the civil laws of the countries in which they reside. In this book, Travis takes on some of the practical and philosophical questions this situation raises for religious Jews who seek to be good citizens of both worlds in the US and beyond. Readers may be intrigued not only by the Jewish example, but by potential analogies and lessons for other groups who strive to reconcile their dual commitments in this way.”


—Don Seeman, associate professor, Department of Religion and Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, Emory University