September 08th, 2015

The Freehof Blog

Texts, Sources, Opinions, and Arguments

Fatal Contradictions? Progressive Halakhah According to Yogi Berra
March 16, 2025

Does a fatal contradiction lie at the heart of the project called “progressive halakhah”?

It’s an article of faith for those of us in the field that traditional Jewish law, properly read and interpreted, does not conflict with the liberal values that govern contemporary culture and society. But there are times when Jewish law, despite our best efforts at liberal interpretation, yields conclusions that are decidedly non-liberal. When that happens, when we find ourselves unable to reconcile between halakhah and our values, we have no recourse but to choose the one or the other. Thus the fatal contradiction: when conflict occurs you can accept the decision yielded by the halakhic process, or you can declare that our liberal standards of justice and equity take precedence over Jewish law. But you can’t have it both ways.

We disagree. We think, rather, that you can have it both ways. That’s because we accept the advice of that great rabbi, Yogi Berra, z”l: “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” [more]

Senator Adam Schiff and the Mishneh Torah
December 17, 2024

Adam Schiff, newly elected U.S. Senator from California, was sworn into office while placing his hand on - wait for it - a volume of the 1490 Soncino edition of Rambam's Mishneh Torah. We at the Freehof Institute are thrilled that he chose a work of halakhah for the oath-taking... well, sort of thrilled. We're wondering whether the Mishneh Torah was the best sefer he could have chosen? For this highly symbolic ritual act, was it the wrong symbol? [more]

Is It Forbidden to Rescue Hostages?
February 16, 2024

The daring raid that rescued the hostages Louis Har and Fernando Merman from captivity in Gaza brought cheer this past week to Israelis and those who support Israel. But it raises an interesting halakhic question: doesn't Jewish law actually forbid us to conduct such operations? Our answer: it depends on how you decide to read Jewish law. [more]

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Guitars, Rabbi Lau, and the Abuse of Halakhah
September 9, 2023

As the year 5784 approaches, we turn our attention to an interesting phenomenon in the ḥaredi community in Israel: “Carlebach-style” s’liḥot services, in which the traditional penitential prayers are recited to the accompaniment of musical instruments. This practice has been around for a while, and it seems to attract a large following. The question, of course, is whether the halakhah permits it. Some poskim condemn it as "destructive of Jewish tradition." But this year, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau has issued a heter. Although in principle (mil’khatḥilah), he writes, individuals and communities ought to recite s’liḥot in the traditional a cappella fashion, “since there are those for whom musical instruments add a sense of longing or yearning (kisufim) to prayer, we should not forbid this.”

Wait a minute - haven't we heard all this before? [more]

Re-charging Reform Judaism and the Particularistic Agenda
May 11, 2023

The Re-Charging Reform Judaism conference, hosted at and sponsored by the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York, is set for May 31-June 1, 2023. It looks like an interesting program, judging from the agenda and the list of speakers. And the Planning Committee includes a lot of good people. There’s just one item missing from the program that bothers us. Can you guess what it is? (Hint: it’s in our name.) [more]

The Arrogance of the Interpreter
June 27, 2022

In his opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito writes the following: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.” As students of halakhah, we have some experience in the interpretation of legal texts. And that experience teaches us that Alito’s statement demonstrates either shocking ignorance or stunning arrogance.

We don’t think he’s ignorant. So we’ll go with arrogance. [more]

The Conversion Crisis is a Crisis of Halakhic Imagination
January 13, 2022

Another year, another crisis over conversion (giyur, גיור) in Israel. This one involves the reforms in the conversion process advocated by Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana, which would authorize municipal rabbis to supervise conversions outside the control of the Chief Rabbinate. The Chief Rabbi, as to be expected, is not amused, and he threatens to withhold his approval of any conversions in Israel (such approval is necessary under the law) unless Kahana shelves his proposal. The presenting issue is an administrative question (“who’s in charge of conversions?”). But the real issue of this and of every conversion crisis in Israel, cuts deeper, to the very definition of conversion itself and to the nature of rabbinic legal thinking in the era of sovereign Jewish statehood. [more]

Must Doctors Always Tell Their Patients the Truth?
December 14, 2021

If you’re the sort of person who reads our website, the question posed by our title is likely a non-starter for you. We progressives disagree on a lot of things, but we all tend to believe that patient autonomy is the central principle of bioethics. Autonomy implies informed consent; informed consent requires information. Thus, physicians must always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to their patients. Except when they shouldn't. [more]

On Abortion, Halakhah, and Religious Liberty
September 3, 2021

It is September, 2021. Five justices of the United States Supreme Court have just issued a ruling that many legal experts consider to be the overturning (for all practical purposes) of the constitutional guarantee of a right to abortion, enshrined in the 1973 Court ruling Roe v. Wade. The ruling has raised alarm within the progressive Jewish community in America. We share that alarm, and we want to take this opportunity to point our readers to two resources on our website. [more]

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and the Possibilities of Progressive Halakhah
July 29, 2021

Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg is one of the more fascinating personalities on the contemporary Orthodox scene. And judging from a recent post on his Facebook page that declares his affinity with the progressive halakhic outlook, we are happy to claim him as one of us. [more]

Thinking and Paskening About Vaccine Mandates
July 1, 2021

Our conversation on mandatory immunization against COVID-19 has revealed some differences of opinion among us. And meanwhile, we have some issues with the responsa that have been issued on the subject. [more]

The Israel Supreme Court Ruling on Non-Orthodox Conversions:
What It Is and What It Isn't
March 11, 2021

The progressive Jewish world rejoiced at the news that on March 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that conversions to Judaism performed in Israel under the auspices of the non-Orthodox movements are sufficient to establish Jewish identity under the Law of Return. Not surprisingly, the Orthodox Jewish world was, shall we say, less enthusiastic. All sides agree that this “bombshell” decision delivered by Chief Justice Esther Hayut, has expanded the scope of the Law of Return, for good or for ill.

Obviously, as progressives, we think it’s for good. But we want to take this opportunity to consider the decision carefully, in order to help clarify just what it is and what it isn’t, what it says and what it doesn’t say. The ruling is a blow for equality in the state of Israel, but we shouldn’t forget that, in the battle for equal rights, we have not yet arrived in, er, the promised land. This is especially true when it comes to halakhah, the particular concern of this blog. [more]

Jumping the Vaccine Line: Is It Ethical?
January 29, 2021

Suppose you get the chance to receive a COVID-19 immunization. “Wait a minute,” you say. “There are people out there, some of whom I know, who have not yet been vaccinated, even though they are more deserving of it than I am.” Perhaps they have medical conditions that ought to rank them higher than you in the scale of priorities. Perhaps they are “essential workers” while you, whatever your job, can do it from home, online, in a much safer environment. Should you accept the immunization? Should you feel guilty about it? [more]

Rambam on Forgiveness, Unity, and “Time to Move On”
January 15, 2021

On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob incited by the President of the United States and others who have insisted, without evidence, that the recent presidential election was “rigged” and stolen from him. On January 13, the President was impeached for the second time during his term. A number of American politicians have criticized the impeachment as a distraction from the work of national healing. It is time to unite this country, they say, and not to divide it further. It is “time to move on.” But is it really? How does a community, a nation, draw a proper balance between the demands of justice – the work of investigation and punishment – and of reconciliation, the need to forgive and move forward?

These are difficult questions, to be sure, and this blog doesn’t pretend to have the answers. Nut we thought it would be useful to offer in response some relevant material drawn from the halakhic tradition. Here, without comment, are some passages Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot T’shuvah (Laws of Repentance), chapter two. [more]

Of Elections, Riots, and Dina D'malkhuta
January 8, 2021

The horrific events of January 6, 2021, the day a violent mob incited by the President of the United States stormed and sacked the U.S. Capitol building, put us in mind of the Jewish legal principle דינא דמלכותא דינא, dina d’malkhuta dina, often translated “the law of the state/realm is valid law.” [more]

'Failures in Rabbinic Leadership: The Pandemic Edition
December, 2020

From across the Jewish ideological and denominational spectrum, rabbis have met their responsibility to offer guidance to their communities on questions raised by the COVID-19 crisis. Well, most rabbis. Then there's this guy. [more]

Mandatory Immunization for COVID-19: A Conversation
Hanukkah, 2020

Some perspectives on one of the most important ethical issues raised by the pandemic. [more]

Priorities in Immunization
December 9, 2020

The good news is that a vaccine for COVID-19 is on the way. The bad news is that for some time, there won't be enough vaccine to immunize everybody. So we'll have to allocate - to ration - it, deciding who goes first and who must wait. What halakhah tells us about setting these priorities. [more]

What Contemporary Bioethics Can Learn from Progressive Halakhah
October 21, 2020

It is the fall of 2020, the beginning of the Jewish year 5781, and the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating. We await a vaccine, wondering about its effectiveness and about whether the world’s governments can organize properly to manufacture it in massive quantities and to distribute it efficiently and equitably. There is much we do not know about the future, but one thing we can say with certainty is that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world. [more]

How Much is a "K'zayit"? You Be the Judge
April 7, 2020

With everything else you have to worry about these days (“these days,” for those who may come across this entry in the distant future, are the days of the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide social distancing), one thing that you should not worry about is the precise amount of matzah that you need to eat in order to fulfill the mitzvah at the seder. [more]

COVID-19 as Sha`at Hadaḥak (A Time of Urgency)
April 6, 2020

Jewish law, like other legal systems, makes provisions for times of urgency or emergency, commonly referred to as sha`at hadaḥak (שעת הדחק).[ The current coronavirus pandemic would certainly seem to qualify as sha`at hadaḥak, particularly in light of the regime of social distancing and stay-in-place that has been forced upon us. So much of Jewish religious life assumes the setting of a community, the presence of a minyan, yet this has become impossible given the restrictions placed on social gatherings. How are halakhic thinkers coping with the challenge of permitting virtual communities to serve as the equivalent of physical ones? [more]

Coronavirus, the Halakhah, and the Counsel of Experts
March 13, 2020

At this writing, the COVID-19 outbreak has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Tough measures are being taken around the world to deal with the disease, whether to contain or to mitigate its spread, and to attempt to cushion its economic impact. Travel restrictions and quarantines are in effect in North America and Israel; schools and universities have moved to online instruction; large public gatherings have been banned. This crisis is a test of our ability, as individuals and as communities, to come together to do what is necessary to preserve the public health and to calm the rising fear that many are feeling.

Is there a particularly halakhic insight that might be helpful to us at this time? [more]

Halakhic, Liberal, and Secular?
August 14, 2019

In a recent interview with the Times of Israel, Dr. Andrew Rehfeld speaks of his vision for HUC-JIR, the Reform movement’s seminary and intellectual center, now that he has assumed the presidency of the institution. The discussion is wide-ranging and fascinating. Dr. Rehfeld, an associate professor of political science at Washington University who left academia to head the Jewish Federation of St. Louis from 2012-2019, is the first non-rabbi to serve as president of HUC-JIR. As such, he brings a new perspective to the job, which can be a good thing: “It’s very hard for organizations in the middle of dynamic shifts to make them from within, so I think there is a greater opportunity not just for me, but for anyone coming from the outside.” We agree. New perspectives carry in their wake new opportunities for learning and growth. And it’s in that spirit that we offer the following comments.
<more>

Compulsory Immunization
April 29, 2019

The measles outbreak in the United States, so closely associated with opposition to immunization within the haredi (right-wing Orthodox) community (https://www.haaretz.com/…/.premium-anti-vaxxers-anti-semiti… ), raises the question: is there a legitimate Jewish religious – i.e., halakhic – objection to the immunization of children? The answer, in a word, is “no,” a position shared by the major denominational groupings.<more>

Two Cheers for the Chief Rabbi
December 17, 2015

We tend on this blog to be rather critical of the established (= Orthodox) rabbinate in Israel. so it's only proper to congratulate that august institution when it does something right. <more>

Conversion? What Conversion?
November 30, 2015

Another day, another outrage from the ḥaredi rabbinate. This time, it's a decision by a Jerusalem beit din (rabbinical court) annulling a conversion to Judaism which took place over thirty years ago. The conversion, in other words, legally never happened. One of the more sordid of these is that the head of the beit din, Rabbi Ḥayyim Yehudah Rabinowitz (that's him in the middle of the picture), is currently embroiled in charges of corruption surrounding his conduct of the court. <more>

Incarceration, Part Two: Is There a Jewish Approach to Criminal Sentencing Reform?
November 13, 2015

In our last post, we examined a statement that appeared on a Reform Jewish website. The statement declared that "Jewish values" support current efforts to do away with the mandatory criminal sentencing regime in the United States, in particular the heavy sentences handed down to non-violent drug offenders. We argued that, aside from the merits of the proposed reform, the "values" that the statement cited (the verse Deuteronomy 16:20 - "Justice, justice you shall pursue") amount to little more than a nebulous slogan and that any substantive support that does exist in Jewish tradition is most likely to be found in the halakhah, the texts and sources of Jewish law.

All right - so who's going to volunteer to conduct a study of the vast corpus of the halakhic literature in search of that support? <more>

Incarceration, “Jewish Values,” and the URJ – Part One
October 29, 2015

A recent post on a website sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism urges Reform Jews to support the proposed Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123). That's clearly a worthy goal. But troubles us is the way in which the URJ post justifies its claim that sentencing reform is in accord with "Jewish values". <more>

To Cantors and Rabbis: A High Holiday Message from the 13th Century
September 8, 2015

Rabbi Sh’lomo b. Adret (Rashba / רשב”א, d. 1310 in Barcelona) was one of the outstanding rishonim, or “early” (pre-16th century) rabbinical writers. His Talmud commentaries (ḥidushim) are regarded as classics of the genre and are standard features of the yeshiva curriculum. Rashba was also a recognized halakhic authority, and his collected responsa (t’shuvot), numbering in the thousands, cover the entire range of Jewish law and practice.

One responsum of his (vol. 1, no. 215) is especially timely for rabbis and cantors at the Yamim Nora’im, the High Holiday season. Here’s the question (sh’eilah): <more>

The Israeli Conversion Crisis and Progressive Halakhah
September 1, 2015

The latest round of the conversion wars in Israel is more than simply politics, the attempt to entice ḥaredi parties into a razor-thin Knesset majority. When we look at it closely, we find a case of progressive halakhah at work, an example of how rabbis not at all associated with the progressive Jewish movements can nonetheless utilize progressive halakhic thinking to solve problems and to relieve human suffering... <more>

September 08th, 2015

9/8/2015

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The Freehof Blog

Texts, Sources, Opinions, and Arguments