Q&A: Statistical Considerations in Jewish Law
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Statistical Considerations in Jewish Law
Question
Should changing statistical considerations be taken into account in halakhic rulings?
I’m not asking specifically about coronavirus, but I saw that there was some halakhic ruling by rabbinical judges in Netanya regarding the amount used to determine a woman’s “support payments,” relying on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Answer
This is too general a question. Why shouldn’t they use statistical considerations? I’m familiar with that calculation of the support payments (it was sent to me as well), and I don’t see any principled problem with it.