Friday, February 24, 2006

Parshas Mishpatim

This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a complete and speedy recovery.



The question for this week is why, out of all the laws in this week's Torah portion, those of Jewish servants are placed first?



Halacha on a Practical Level

Laws, ordinances, statutes, and more! All found in Parshas Mishpatim. I have already discussed the theoretical need for a halachic system but all these details, isn't it enough for a Rabbi to know them? Why does traditional Jewish study focus the bulk of our energy into halachic studies instead of focusing on philosophical ideas (such as the nature of prayer or the world to come) or Tanach or Midrash?

Rav Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein provides us with an answer: "Without doubt, the Jew, like other people, confronts the Ribbono shel Olam [Master of the Universe] as redeemer, benefactor, and judge. Primarily, however, he encounters Him as commander" (Leaves of Faith, page 3).

G-d commands and we strive to fulfill our mission which we achieve through halacha. (Often we must go beyond halacha but that is a separate discussion.)

Translating this sense of mission into everyday lives, it becomes obvious that if we are to act properly, we must strive to master the details and not leave them to a Rabbi.

This care for the details becomes manifest when comparing Orthodoxy to the Conservative movement, which philosophically recognizes the binding nature of a halachic system. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that this is not a polemic; I am simply attempting to illustrate a concept.* I am not speaking of their methodology nor their scholarship (I could go into detail but again, this is not a polemic). Rather I am speaking of which halachic questions are even asked.

* I want no inferences (either way!) to be drawn from this about my views of the Conservative movement's theoretical philosophy and the same holds true for all non-Orthodox movements. An eighteen year old such as myself cannot confer or deny any legitimacy or validity on anything. The topic of how an Orthodox Jew should relate to non-Orthodox movements is one which every Orthodox Jew should discuss with his or her own Rav and their Rav's opinion should be viewed as binding.

Skimming through the index to the halachic answers written by Reb Moshe Feinstein z"ztl (I highly suggest you read a bit about him at http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/feinstein.htm ) I see questions such as:

1. if a women sitting outside a sukkah answers amen to a blessing being made on the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah.

2. if one accepts Shabbas early, can he or she ask others to do malacha for them.

3. what blessing is made on cornflakes.

Contrast these to the Conservative movement whose halachic responses deal mainly with communal issues and modern fads (Reb Moshe also discusses communal issues). Some examples:

1. whether or not a mechitza is required.

2. can somebody who married a non-Jew receive an aliyah.

3. the burial of non-Jews in Jewish cemeteries.

Practical everyday questions relevant to a halachically observant community are not even asked. Reb Moshe alone answered far, far more questions, most of which are of a much more practical nature, than the entire Conservative movement's committee for Jewish Law.

Halachic questions pop up everywhere and we often are not even aware of them. Practically, a concern for our mission dictates that we learn so we can act.




Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

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