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Consultation on matters of religious ‘conservatism’ and halachic ‘innovations’

שו”תCategory: philosophyConsultation on matters of religious ‘conservatism’ and halachic ‘innovations’
asked 9 years ago

Hello, Your Honor,

Towards the conclusion of my term at the yeshiva, I was asked to write an article on a topic of my choosing.
I decided to write an article titled “Religious Conservatism in the Postmodern Era.”
In this article, I will address various disputes between different schools of Judaism, and show that the dispute is not in the content of the halakhic law, that is, whether it is permissible or forbidden to do anything, but in the halakhic form, that is, in the way it is ruled (for example, whether the halakhic law establishes reality or reality establishes the halakhic law. It would be more accurate to say that I will try to clarify how the posak perceives the halakhic law a priori – what leads to the content of the ruling in the eyes of the posak). In the article, I will compare the concept of halakhic law with the concept of law and argue that changes in content are not innovations, but changes in the form of the law or halakhic law. I will show this through historical points that influenced the content of the halakhic law (the use of electricity) as well as phenomena that influenced the form (which in any case influenced the content). Finally, I will argue that the word conservative is not, as we tend to interpret it today – someone who adheres to the content of the halakhic law and prohibits as much as possible – but a conservative is one who preserves the form of the halakhic law and, of course, its commandments. And I will also present the place of the conservative in postmodern society.

In the course of writing the article, I will also try to clarify who the conservative is – a layman or a preacher, and I would like to argue that a conservative is not necessarily a layman, and likewise a preacher is not necessarily an innovator, but rather a conservative may be a preacher.
I will ask the rabbi for assistance in trying to prove that a text requires a sermon, and that an innovation is to read a text without interpretation.
I have mostly found sources in the Sages to prove this, but this is not helpful, since in the eyes of the Sadducees, the Sages themselves are the innovators. Therefore, I would be happy to receive sources or examples that will help me prove this claim.
In addition, I would be happy to receive clarification/comment on the topic or content.

Another thing and on the same subject – can I ask the rabbi for permission to cite examples he has provided in his books or articles?

With thanks in advance and much appreciation,


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מיכי Staff answered 9 years ago
There are a lot of points here and I didn’t understand them all. You probably understand that the issue is close to my heart and I would be happy to have more concrete questions if there are any. It’s hard for me to comment on all of this. I will only note that conservatism can be both a syllabus and not just a syllabus. For example, the people of Jerusalem’s opposition to the lessons of the Chazo”a and their adherence to the lessons of the Rabbi Naeh is conservatism in every sense of the word (and this was well emphasized by Prof. Menachem Friedman in his article on the issue of the lessons and their sociological background). To the same extent, there is revolutionism in the syllabus (almost all Haredi today is like this, as Yaakov Katz expanded on in his articles on Orthodoxy). Regarding the request for assistance, I suggest you read David Haneshka’s three articles in the Ma’in 1977-1983, and especially Rabbi Weitman’s response article (which is the most important for your purposes). There you will see how the “sermon” is sometimes the necessary simplification. You have permission to bring anything you find in my writings, of course. The things have gone to the Rabbi and are no longer mine (even the methods in Talmud Torah have ownership of the ideas. As is known, the poskim have disagreed on this regarding copyright).

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