Q&A: Double Doubt Stringency in a Rabbinic Matter
Double Doubt Stringency in a Rabbinic Matter
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Suppose there is food in front of me that is of doubtful rabbinic prohibition. In addition, I am unsure whether today is a rabbinic fast day or not (say I am on a deserted island and have no way to clarify what day it is). In other words, this is a case of a double doubt leading to stringency in a rabbinic matter, where eating is permitted only if both doubts are resolved leniently. Do we still say that in a rabbinic doubt one rules leniently even in such a case?
Best regards,
Answer
I don’t have time right now to get into the substance of the issue, and it requires a very lengthy discussion from many angles. Briefly: if double doubt operates by the rule of majority, as Rashba seems to indicate, then it would appear that in a case of double doubt leading to stringency in a rabbinic matter one should be stringent. Perhaps it also depends on the question whether a majority, or a double doubt leading to stringency, is considered a state of doubt; the later authorities (Acharonim) discussed this regarding doubtful ritual impurity in the public domain, and so on. One must also consider whether every rabbinic doubt is a full-fledged permission, or only a weaker kind of permission. On the first side, it would seem that a double doubt leading to stringency is permitted, since each individual doubt on its own is permitted. Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate.