Q&A: First-Order Halakhic Ruling
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
First-Order Halakhic Ruling
Question
In your halakhic ruling on the issue of a “pedophile witness to a marriage,” almost all the sources you brought (I didn’t go through all of them) were second-order sources. Why not first-order sources?
Answer
I no longer remember exactly what I wrote there, so I’ll respond in general terms. The question is not how many sources you brought, whether first-order or second-order, or who is more and who is less, but whom you relied on. When you bring second-order sources for illustration and support, that is perfectly fine. Especially if the ruling is aimed at an audience that is not prepared to accept first-order rulings (for example, if it is intended to be presented before the rabbinical courts).