Dina D'Malkhuta Dina — The Law of the Land is Law
The Talmudic principle that the law of the country in which Jews reside is binding Jewish law established a framework for Jewish participation in civil society and the obligation of civic responsibility.
Dina d'malkhuta dina ('the law of the kingdom is law') was formulated by the Babylonian sage Shmuel (3rd century CE) to address the question of how Jews should relate to non-Jewish civil law. The principle holds that Jewish law recognizes the binding authority of the civil law of the country in which Jews live — in matters of taxation, property, commerce, and civil order. This remarkable principle enabled Jews to participate fully in civil life, pay taxes, respect civil courts, and fulfill civic obligations across radically different political systems — from Babylonian to Roman to medieval European to modern democratic — without compromising religious identity. The principle also generates the obligation to be good citizens: the Talmud declares that one must pray for the welfare of the government, 'for were it not for the fear of it, each man would swallow his neighbor alive.' This principle represents Judaism's sophisticated negotiation between particular religious identity and universal civic responsibility.
The law of the kingdom is law.
Political philosopher John Rawls's concept of 'overlapping consensus' — the idea that citizens of diverse worldviews can agree on common political principles without agreeing on comprehensive doctrines — describes precisely the mechanism that dina d'malkhuta dina enables: Jewish law recognizing the authority of civil law without requiring theological agreement.
Talmud Bavli