Noda BiYehuda — Responsa de Rabbi Yehezkel Landau

The Noda BiYehuda ("Known in Judah") is the most influential collection of responsa of the eighteenth century, composed by Rabbi Yehezkel Landau, Chief Rabbi of Prague for nearly forty years (1754–1793). These responsa cover the full scope of Jewish law and bear witness to an era of profound transformation: the flourishing of the Haskalah, the development of Hasidism, and social changes linked to the Josephine Reforms in Austria. Landau demonstrates remarkable halakhic rigor while adapting to the new realities of his time. His ruling permitting anatomical dissection for medical purposes — while forbidding it in principle — is considered a model of halakhic reasoning in the face of modernity.