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• Responsa
  Responsa

  noun

  the branch of rabbinical literature comprised of authoritative replies in letter form made by noted rabbis or Jewish scholars to questions sent to them concerning Jewish law.
• responsa
  responsa

  noun

  the plural of responsum

Responsa

American  

[ri-spon-suh] / rɪˈspɒn sə /

noun

1. the branch of rabbinical literature comprised of authoritative replies in letter form made by noted rabbis or Jewish scholars to questions sent to them concerning Jewish law.

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responsa British  

/ rɪˈspɒnsə /

noun

1. the plural of responsum

2. that part of rabbinic literature concerned with written rulings in answer to questions

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Etymology

Origin of Responsa

1895–1900; < New Latin; plural of responsum

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Responsa responsa

He addressed Responsa to Rashi on questions of Talmudic jurisprudence.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele

Besides Responsa, he left the "Halakot," or "Little Talmud," which Is a pruning down of the entire Talmud, so as to present only what is useful for establishing the norm, deduced by Alfasi himself.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele

It thus includes both the case law of the English and the Responsa Prudentum of the Romans.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3 "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" by Various

The Responsa of Rashi dealing with martyrs and converts no doubt sprang from these sad conditions.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele

As I shall immediately proceed to show, it was Rashi's disciples who collected the Responsa of their master and preserved them for us, at least in part.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele

The "futwa," therefore, seems to correspond not so much with our English "decisions" or "precedents" as with the "responsa prudentum," that fertile source of doctrines in the Roman law.

From International Weekly Miscellany - Volume 1, No. 9, August 26, 1850 by Various

The work from which it is taken is a collection of legal opinions, which had in their day the force of judicial decisions—of something equivalent to the "responsa prudentum" of Roman jurisprudence.

From International Weekly Miscellany - Volume 1, No. 9, August 26, 1850 by Various

His responsa were celebrated for their insight into the principles of Law, and for the minute knowledge they displayed.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Cruttwell, Charles Thomas

Thus we may find a callida iunctura between the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 451fifteenth stanzas, for Fides and Pax would fit in well with the responsa petunt of the fourteenth.

From The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus by Fowler, W. Warde

Second, brief compilations of precepts, like the works of Hefez ben Yazliah and the responsa of some geonim.

From A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy by Husik, Isaac