Q&A: Clarification of the Rabbi’s remarks regarding the third identity
Clarification of the Rabbi’s remarks regarding the third identity
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I’d like to see whether I understood the Rabbi’s remarks correctly.
In the interview with Yaron London, the Rabbi said that the halakhic authority he accepts is not mediated through rabbis, but rather that you decide for yourself. It seems obvious to me that the Rabbi meant that you decide for yourself because you have the halakhic knowledge to rule on halakhic questions according to your own ruling?
In addition, in the podcast with Roi Yozevitch, the Rabbi said that the third identity itself will be created after the “intellectual honesty” of the conservatives, like what the Rabbi said about secular courts or about two synagogues in the same city. Can the third identity be created through the conservatives? Meaning, once there is a broad consensus among conservative rabbis that addresses these halakhic questions—then necessarily the moral questions that require a decision will be discussed and will not be brushed under the rug.
Because from what I understood, the main problem is that on the one hand the general public agrees with the Rabbi (who objects to calling them “light” religious), and the problem is that there is no rabbinic consensus with broad enough shoulders to decide questions like these. So—according to the Rabbi, how will the third identity come into being?
Answer
That is a request for a prediction. I do not engage in prophecy. That is one of the skills that unfortunately I do not have.
Discussion on Answer
That is correct.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
I’d be happy to get an answer regarding the first part of the question.