Q&A: The Approach of the Shulchan Arukh
The Approach of the Shulchan Arukh
Question
Rabbi Yosef Karo’s words in the introduction to his work are well known: “It occurred to me that after all the discussion I should issue a halakhic ruling and decide between the various opinions, for that is the goal: that we should have one Torah and one law. And I saw that if we were to try to decide the law among the halakhic decisors on the basis of Talmudic arguments and proofs, then Tosafot and the novellae of Nachmanides, Rashba, and Ran, of blessed memory, are full of arguments and proofs for each of the views. So who is the one whose heart would dare approach and add arguments and proofs? And who is the one whose heart would embolden him to put his head among the mountains, the mountains of God, to decide between them on the basis of arguments and proofs, to overturn what they determined, or to decide what they did not decide? For because of our many sins, the couch of our intellect is too short to understand their words—how much more so to outsmart them.”
My questions are:
- Is this agreed upon, or were there those who disagreed with him (and who were they)?
- Do you agree with his approach?
- What is the reasoning for not agreeing with him?
Answer
See my article, “Authority and Autonomy in Halakhic Ruling.”