Q&A: An Internal Question About Halakhic Ruling
An Internal Question About Halakhic Ruling
Question
Rabbi, hello,
There is something I didn’t understand in what you said. On the one hand, you argue that the authority of the sages comes from “do not deviate,” and of course from the necessity of having a source of authority; but on the other hand, you speak about innovation in Jewish law, even though that seems to contradict “do not deviate,” since you are obligated to follow the words of the sages, neither to the right nor to the left. I would appreciate an explanation. Thank you very much.
Answer
Authority is vested only in certain institutions (the Sanhedrin or the Talmud). Innovation applies with regard to other sources that do not have authority by virtue of “do not deviate” or otherwise. Beyond that, there is also interpretive innovation, and that can apply even to rulings of the Sanhedrin. I expanded on this in my series of columns on Modern Orthodoxy here on the site.