Jump To:

• 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.

---

responsa British  

/ rɪˈspɒnsə /

noun

1. the plural of responsum

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Responsa

1895–1900; < New Latin; plural of responsum

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Responsa responsa

Though his correspondents were not so widely scattered, the subjects touched upon by Rashi in his Responsa are very varied in character.

From Rashi by Adele Szold

The /De Poenitentia/ and the /Responsa Moralia/ of De Lugo served as models of what might be called mixed treatment, partly scientific and partly casuistical.

From History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1 by James MacCaffrey

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

He addressed Responsa to Rashi on questions of Talmudic jurisprudence.

From Rashi by Adele Szold

With this exception, the Responsa do not betray the least straining after effect, the least literary refinement.

From Rashi by Adele Szold

It is highly esteemed throughout Islam, and is quoted even by the doctors of Mecca as the Futawa-i-hind, or the Indian responsa prudentum.

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

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

As indicated above the so-called books of Śruti or Vedic literature are not consecutive treatises, but rather responsa prudentium, utterances respecting ritual and theology ascribed to poets, sacrificers and philosophers who were accepted as authorities.

From Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2 by Sir Charles Eliot

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

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 Isaac Husik

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---