Q&A: Conservatism and Liberalism versus Leniency and Stringency
Conservatism and Liberalism versus Leniency and Stringency
Question
Do you think there is a direct connection between the ideological axis of “conservatism–liberalism” and the halakhic axis of “stringency–leniency”?
In other words: the more conservative a rabbi is (for example, Hardal, Haredi, or even distinctly Haredi), does that mean he tends to rule more stringently, and the more liberal a rabbi is, does that mean he tends to rule more leniently?
Or is there no necessary connection between worldview and the actual degree of stringency in practice.
Answer
Before clarifying that, we first need to examine what a halakhic leniency actually is. In the article I explained that leniency means opening up more possibilities. It is clear that a more liberal rabbi will open up more possibilities. See here: https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%90-%D7%95%D7%97%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%90/