“The ability of an individual halakhist to bring about a change depends…on one’s ability to foresee the opposition of one’s peers to one’s innovation”
…the ability of an individual halakhist to bring about a change depends, to a certain extent, on his ability to foresee the opposition of his peers to his innovation. From these conclusions, it is possible to derive further practical conclusions. First, an authority who seeks to participate in halakhic discourse must be aware that by […] continued…
“I want to know what my rabbi thinks of Jacob and Rachel, not of Pence and Pelosi”
I know outstanding rabbis on the left of the political spectrum and others on the right. You can love Torah and vote for Trump. You can love Torah and think Trump is a blot on the American system. What you may not do, if you are intellectually honest, is say that the Torah points in […] continued…
“…it is, I think, the biggest, the one most central to the debates within Orthodoxy today, and the most personal”
It is impossible to credit the claim that it doesn’t matter at all to the content of the halakhic system that those admitted into the tent of Torah, those with a seat at the table, those with a voice in the conversation, have been exclusively male. What does it mean that endless deliberations about women’s […] continued…
“There are women who are learned and it is only fitting that they too have a title”
…I still don’t see the objection to female clergy. I am not talking about women pulpit rabbis, but what is the problem with a woman chaplain at a hospital or a woman teacher of advanced Torah studies or even a woman posek (poseket)? I realize that there are objections to using the title of “rabbi” […] continued…
“Gadolhood is less about the individual erudition of a given rabbi and more about a social fact…”
Gadolhood is less about the individual erudition of a given rabbi and more about a social fact, reflecting the experience of a community bound by a concrete conception of Torah, halakha, and rabbinic authority. This sense of authority cannot be manufactured by simply turning to a rabbi to ask a few questions here and there, […] continued…
“…although Modern Orthodoxy has produced many brilliant and dedicated leaders and laymen, it has yet to cultivate younger figures possessing the authority and broad appeal of its founding fathers”
The charge that the establishment lacks even a healthy amount of dynamism is undeniably correct. Indeed, the RCA’s long failure to have clearly articulated the reasons behind a rabbinical norm that has held for over 2,000 years is but one sign of a broader disinclination to anticipate the challenges facing the movement and of an […] continued…
“The firmness of R. lsserles finds its fullest expression in his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch”
The firmness of R. lsserles finds its fullest expression in his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch and in the ד”מ, which served as a basis for the commentary. There we see R. Isserles as the authority who, in brief, clear and unequivocal terms, lays down the law and puts a final seal on it. “No […] continued…
“A rabbi needs sufficient training to go deeper into Jewish tradition than a well-read Jew”
A rabbi needs sufficient training to go deeper into Jewish tradition than a well-read Jew. The fact is, a student can develop that level of expertise anywhere. In my experience, the established movement-connected seminaries turn out such rabbis with a good deal more consistency. Indie seminaries – particularly those looking to establish themselves – seem […] continued…
“R. Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik…wanted Christians to understand their scripture anew through sympathetic Jewish eyes and to educate his Jewish readers about their misunderstanding of Christianity”
R. Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik, the traditional rabbi from Lithuania…is actually more sympathetic to Christian doctrine, even the doctrine of the Trinity, and much more positive about the symbiosis between Judaism and Christianity than almost all of the rabbis mentioned above. He was not primarily interested in the historical Jesus but in Christianity itself. He wrote […] continued…
“Rabbis in America and in Israel talk about political issues all the time, and maybe it is appropriate to ask whether that is a good policy for them and for the community”
Rabbis in America and in Israel are used to speaking about political issues. They do it all the time. Do I want rabbis in America — not that it matters whether I do — not to speak about Israel from the pulpit? Not to encourage their congregants to support Israel in certain times? Not to […] continued…
Powered by WordPress | Fluxipress Theme