Q&A: Jewish Law Grounded in Reality
Originally published:
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Jewish Law Grounded in Reality
Question
- I heard your podcast with Roi Yozovich. I understood you to be arguing that Rabbi Kanievsky was not suited to issue halakhic rulings, since he was not familiar with many aspects of the real world in which we live. My question is: how connected to the world does a halakhic decisor need to be? And in your opinion, was Rabbi Ovadia connected?
Answer
I said that he was not suited to lead the generation, and also not to issue halakhic rulings on matters connected to a reality he did not know. There are topics on which he is suited to rule. I don’t have a criterion. There is common sense.