Last week, the Center for Law and Religion sponsored a visit to St. John’s Law School by Rabbi Yaron Catane, who until recently served as Legal Counsel to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and now deals with religious affairs as a Legal Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office. Rabbi Catane was the guest lecturer in Professor Keith Sharfman’s seminar on Jewish Law. Among other things, Rabbi Catane spoke about the origins, powers, and duties of his office, some of the legal and political issues he encountered there, and the ways in which the Chief Rabbinate’s interpretations of traditional religious texts have been subject to increasing scrutiny by the Israeli Supreme Court. Details of the visit are here.