Q&A: Jewish Law, but We Do Not Rule That Way Publicly
Jewish Law, but We Do Not Rule That Way Publicly
Question
I listened to the lectures on halakhic ruling. I really loved the lectures. Thank you, Rabbi.
At the end of the lectures, the Rabbi made a claim that in my view is difficult, and I find it hard to accept. The Rabbi said (maybe not in exactly these words; at least that was my impression) that the role of a halakhic decisor is not to educate the public. He has no public responsibility. He is a technical expert in Jewish law. More than that, the Rabbi said—and this I remember for certain—that the Rabbi should present all the opinions, and the ordinary person, who is not qualified to issue a ruling, should choose the path that suits him according to the pressure he feels. It is strange to rule on Jewish law according to a criterion of pressure, which in the end will become the leading criterion for a halakhic ruling for the ordinary person. That is something I am not willing to accept. Rabbis today see the decisor as a guide who must know the person and rule accordingly. That is not technical.
I found proof of this! After all, in the Talmud they wrote that there are cases where the law is such, but we do not instruct that way publicly. That means that to the public they will say that the matter is forbidden, and they will not permit it to them—even though that same person might himself sharpen the knife on a Jewish holiday, because in his opinion labor may be done for accessories of a commandment. But to the public he will lie and say that it is forbidden. From here we see the public responsibility of the halakhic decisor. How can the Rabbi say what he said after that is what is written in the Talmud?
I heard from Rabbi Eliyahu Rahamim Zeini that there is a place in Europe—I forgot the name—where rabbis were lenient according to Jewish law, for example regarding the use of an organ in the synagogue. Because although from a dry halakhic standpoint this is permitted—and indeed among Sephardim some introduced it—one must know where it comes from, and since there it had Christian influence, it should have been forbidden. But they permitted it. And so they permitted it even though they were great sages. And the result was that all Judaism from those communities ultimately disappeared. This shows how important halakhic ruling is. And it is not just halakhic expertise.
Answer
A halakhic decisor is forbidden to lie, even if it is beneficial. Usually it is not beneficial either, except perhaps in the short term. When a decisor instructs an incorrect ruling, then that is not the Jewish law. He has no authority to do that. When the Talmud did this, it may have been a local rabbi in his own place, or someone who has authority to determine laws, as in the Sanhedrin. But a decisor has no authority at all. He is only a halakhic expert. The Talmud, which has authority, can also determine that there is a law that is not taught publicly. That itself is a halakhic determination.
Rabbi Zeini’s “proofs” are mere demagoguery. Outcomes prove nothing. There are situations in which a good ruling leads to a bad result, and vice versa.
In general I would say that, aside from the essential argument that lying is forbidden, lies are a very bad way to achieve results. Maimonides, in the introduction to The Guide, speaks in praise of esoteric writing (concealing one’s true view), which is a kind of lie. Go and see how much the commentators and scholars have disagreed about his views, because once he says such a thing, one can always say about any ruling or statement of his that it is an esoteric lie. You can no longer learn anything from what such a person says or writes. And in our day, when everything is exposed—the internet, and the various halakhic decisors, whose every word is circulated everywhere—the lie will always be revealed in the end. Therefore today, lying is folly even on the tactical level. It will only do damage. But as stated, in my opinion it is forbidden even where it does help.
And indeed, halakhic decisors are not educators. Halakhic knowledge does not qualify you to be an educator, nor does it give you authority for that. We can plainly see that most halakhic decisors nowadays are experts in Jewish law and nothing more. I would not let them educate anyone.