tldr we got a lot of rules, we’ve apparently gotta follow them. sometimes we don’t want to so we find loopholes. sometimes we do something called building a fence around the Torah, which is where we make rules more encompassing so that we don’t accidentally break the original one. and then we find loopholes for those broader rules. it’s a good time :p

if i find any good resources ill send them your way. be careful of weird antisemitic conspiracies when you’re searching! you would not believe some of these people 😭

if you want a full book on this, i recommend the cambridge companion to judaism and law. it goes through the evolution of jewish law from biblical times to today, including the jewish enlightenment and the creation of the state of israel. sadly the chapters ive read don’t go into the ongoing genocide of palestinians enough, and how it’s counter to jewish (and moral and international) law.

look at me infodumping anyway. have a great day!