Describe the nature of Jewish self-government during the Middle Ages and indicate whether it promoted a democratic or non-democratic political orientation.

How and why did the institution of the Court Jew develop?  How did the situation of the Jewish people in the times and places of these leaders affect the demands and opportunities placed on the leadership? What kind of political legacy did they leave?

Daniel Elazar argues that the American Jewish polity is voluntary and federal. What does he mean by that? How are these principles expressed in Jewish communal governance?

Emancipation failed in Europe but succeeded in the United States. What does this mean? What evidence supports this claim?