Q&A: Do Not Place a Stumbling Block, Haredim, and Imagination
Do Not Place a Stumbling Block, Haredim, and Imagination
Question
Hello Rabbi, here are a few questions:
1. If, in your view, there is no importance to causing an atheist to observe commandments (of course I mean actions, not that I am convincing him that God exists and that there is a Torah), then is there likewise no importance to preventing someone from committing a prohibition? And if so, are you in effect erasing all the classic interpretations of “do not place a stumbling block” and “mutual responsibility,” etc.?
2. In the witness argument (I looked at your book on the Sabbath), you discuss the probable reliability of the witnesses—that it is less likely that they would make something up, etc.—but it seems you did not address the mindset of people in that period. Just as some members of Eastern communities only a few decades ago saw open miracles אצל some kabbalists (for example, the arak that never ran out, etc.), and we treat this with limited credibility and attribute it to a vivid imagination, and I won’t go into it here at length, so too when I look at that period, when people believed statues were gods and believed all kinds of people who said God had appeared to them—doesn’t that cast doubt on all the mystical testimonies from that time? I think the example of the “open miracles” of the kabbalists (which were public) is tangible.
3. Looking soberly at the way the Hardal community, and especially the Haredim, perceive Jewish law, and their unwillingness (or, in their view, inability) to “update it”—in your opinion, given their high birthrate, in a few decades will there still be a state? And more importantly, will it be a state worth living in? Both because of the economic difficulties, since Haredim work less and mainly enter the workforce at a late age when they are married and have almost no knowledge, so it is hard for them to get a degree, certainly difficult degrees like the exact sciences,
and also because of the “do not place a stumbling block” issue (mainly rabbinic, according to how they understand it), which I looked into, and according to many opinions they are obligated to enforce whatever they can,
and in addition there are many restrictions, so that Jewish law would cause the state not to function like a proper modern Western state. This worries me, so: a. Am I right? b. Does your thesis regarding changes in Jewish law solve this problem?
By the way, since I want to understand, and that is why I read your books, is there a “good” book that summarizes the significant arguments against the Sinai revelation?
Thank you very much; I greatly appreciate your work.
Answer
- I don’t know what the classic interpretations are. I explained my intention very clearly. If you have a specific question, ask it.
- There is certainly some room for doubt. Still, taken as a whole, in my opinion it is quite plausible.
- I’m not a demographer and I don’t deal with this. Claims that the Haredi and Hardal public are growing do not necessarily mean that all of them remain with the same outlooks.
- I’m not familiar with one.
Discussion on Answer
3. Jewish law without reforms has no meaning at all. There have always been reforms and there always will be. I assume that when the authority and responsibility are in the hands of the halakhic decisors, you’ll see reforms here that will make the first Reformers look like a joke by comparison.
5. I don’t understand anything about that. You can ask Oren, the site editor.
I’m far from having enormous knowledge, but I assume I have enough knowledge to evaluate halakhic figures. In my opinion, Rabbi Ovadia was a unique Torah scholar on a historical scale. He definitely knew how to reason by analogy, and listening to his lectures is a delight. He had astonishingly orderly thinking, and all the knowledge seemed to sit with him as if arranged in a box. This is unlike the Lithuanian jokes about him, as though he were a donkey carrying books—jokes told by people who don’t come close to his ankles. True, his way was not my way, and he opposed the Lithuanian method of analysis and learning; and of course there are many points on which I disagree and where one can argue with him, as with any great person.
I don’t have an article about him.
3. My question is whether, in your opinion, Jewish law without significant reforms can work together with running a developed Western state, or whether it is a failure from the outset?
5. And most importantly… thank you for the YouTube channel, very nice. For people on the road, could you upload a podcast with the excellent content that is already recorded? Thank you.
P.S. When I read your definition of a leading sage of the generation, and since you are a halakhic decisor with enormous and, in my view, unique knowledge, I was interested in your opinion of Rabbi Ovadia—was he sufficiently engaged with real life? Did he know how to reason by analogy, and was he a giant on a historical scale, or were the critics right? (As someone who studied among the Haredim, I’m sure you knew all of it.) If you have an article about him, I’d be happy if you could put up a link.
Thank you very much!!!