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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Torah and Halachic Authority (3/12) Previous Document: Question 4.5: How does the Conservative movement deal with Halachic questions? Next Document: Question 4.7: Who is RAMBAM that is mentioned & what are his 13 principles See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
How could two people have two different, logically developed opinions
on any issue? :-)
In answering this, there are two important points to keep in mind:
* Most decisions are not simply bilateral yes/no decisions
* Valid interpretations according to traditional hermeneutics that
differ in particulars of a particular place/time can survive
concurrently (cf. any modern legal system)
The Orthodox rabbis would both say that their halachic rulings are in
line with the tradition of Torah learning, all the way from Sinai, and
that their difference is in details. The Reform rabbi, however, might
derive a ruling from other sources of morality, such as secular
ethical notions of equality.
Reform Rabbi Walter Jacob writes, in Contemporary American Reform
Responsa that "Our path in America is clear and our halakhic stance is
akin to the pluralism of the past from the days of Hillel and Shammai
in the first century through the entire rabbinic period to our own
time." Orthodox rabbis would counter that the schools of Hillel and
Shammai differed on the particulars of halacha (with the understanding
being that the multiplicity of debate was a byproduct of a disucssion
of students, not disciples, resulting in flaws of transmission). Thus,
the Orthodox scholars believe there was no disagreement over first
principles, while Orthodox and Reform differ significantly on major
principles, such as Torah being from G-d, and the authority of
individuals to decide halacha for themselves.
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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