The Importance of the Community Rabbi
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ...Leading with Compassionate Halacha
By Rabbi Daniel Sperber
Urim / 367 pp.

In "The Importance of the Community Rabbi" Rabbi Daniel Sperber, whose prominence and accomplishments need no introduction, argues vigorously for today's rabbis to rule more leniently. He presents a fascinating and engaging treasury of hundreds of lenient halachic rulings throughout the ages. Rabbi Sperber argues that issues like sensitivity to people’s feelings, human dignity, "changing circumstances" and "ko'ach d'heteira" should be given more weight in halachic decision making. The precedents are there, clearly presented one after the other with seemingly no end.

This book is ultimately amazing. It is one of the few halachic books of recent vintage that have kept me engaged from cover to cover. I was simply blown away by the "bekius" and variety of rulings in this book. His arguments for leniency are powerful and convincing but easier said than done. 


It is very easy for Rabbi Sperber to quote the greatest names and authorities in rabbinic history who allowed such things as: adulteress women to remain married to their husbands, a re-wording of the blessing "for not making me a woman," and wine touched by a gentile...but to encourage the 21 year old semicha graduate to do the same is quite a different story.

It is true and unfortunate that the orthodox world is forever moving to the right and that younger rabbis are always "looking over their shoulder." This book is a great dose of sanity in the other direction, but it does deviate, a bit too much, in both content and spirit, from normative, "industry-standard" halacha. The book is either "preaching to the choir" or will end up being ignored, at best, by others.

Highly recommended. 

Popular posts from this blog

Food: A Halachic Analysis

Image
Food: A Halachic Analysis Rabbi Yehuda Spitz Mosaica, 480 pp I am unsure whether “outstanding,” “remarkable,” or “spectacular,” best describes Rabbi Yehuda Spitz’s sefer “Food: A Halachic Analysis”  -- though all three adjectives may not do justice. In over 30 chapters discussing various food and kashrut related halacha, Rabbi Spitz, a sho’el u’meishiv at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, presents unprecedented clarity in explaining and demystifying the issues. Some of these issues include waiting between cheese and meat, using dishwashers for both milk and meat, fish and milk, eggs and onions left uncovered overnight, chalav Yisrael, marit ayin, and much much more. It is thorough, clear, and makes everything easy to understand. Definitely one of his flagship chapters is the appendix on the history of Gelatin and its kosher status. These chapters are not merely regurgitations of what readers have certainly seen in so many other places, but rather, original compositions in the aut...
Read more

Sexuality and Jewish Law

Image
Sexuality and Jewish Law Yaakov Shapiro 430 pages In his Sexuality and Jewish Law, Yaakov Shapiro, an ordained rabbi and non-conformist Lubavitcher chassid, offers a thorough, unapologetic, and uncensored presentation of everything relating to sexual activity and Jewish law.  All rabbinic texts that deal with sexual matters are cited along with the interpretations and comments of all the relevant rishonim , achronim , and poskim . There is also a full presentation of the various halachic opinions and resolutions to the contradictions between them. The exhaustive endnotes are essentially an additional book in their own right. While the book is extremely well researched and impressive in its scope, the author clearly has an agenda and bone to pick. As he writes in the introduction, the book was born out of a bad experience and frustrations with what he was being taught in chattan classes and the “one-sided” approach to the laws of intimacy. The author seeks to put a...
Read more

Aggadah: Sages, Stories & Secrets

Image
Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein Mosaica / 266 pages The Talmudic and Midrashic texts known as Aggadah are the stories, folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice, words of inspiration, and most importantly, Jewish wisdom on how to best live our life in the service of God. In Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets, Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein, a rebbe in a number of yeshivot and seminaries, takes us on journey through 18 different Haggadic pieces. Some of the topics include free will, inspiration, gratitude, prayer, torah study, mitzva observance, Shabbat, and much more. It is also worth mentioning that the Introduction includes a primer (based on the Rambam [1] ) on the role and authority of Aggada, especially with regard to Aggadic pieces that are sensational, completely unrealistic, or otherwise difficult to digest. Every chapter begins with an Aggadic reading. Then, after asking a number of compelling q...
Read more