Q&A: A Dispute in a Case of Doubt — Lenient or Stringent?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
A Dispute in a Case of Doubt — Lenient or Stringent?
Question
Hello Rabbi!
If there is a dispute among later authorities about whether a certain prohibition is Torah-level or rabbinic, do we rule leniently or stringently in a case of doubt?
Answer
You decide based on what seems more plausible to you. And if you yourself are in doubt, then it would apparently depend on the dispute among the medieval authorities (Rishonim) over whether a Torah-level doubt must be treated stringently by Torah law or not. But that too can be rejected. It seems to me comparable to a double doubt, which is permitted even in a Torah-level matter. There are two aspects here: either it is a rabbinic-level doubt, or it is a double doubt in a Torah-level matter.