The Halachic Process Part 1

About seventeen years ago, a rabbinic question was brought to me, that I felt unqualified to answer. It happened to be a point in the laws of family purity; determining when a woman is or isn't permitted to her husband. We must take these situations very seriously. To permit the forbidden, or forbid the permitted, are equally serious sins. The particular stain that was brought to me was VERY borderline. I pondered the sources, as well as my training, and could see equal basis for permitting or forbidding the woman to her husband. I knew I needed to consult a greater expert. It was only recently that I had returned to the U.S., and didn't really know who were the local experts in this field. I asked around, and was told that there was a service of the Satmar community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where one could come during most of the hours of the day and pose questions to experts. I went there, and showed the rabbi on duty the particular stain. He said "Such a question you bring me?!?!", meaning that it was extremely complex. I said "if it was a little better or a little worse, I would have ruled on it myself!". At this his face became angry. ""And who are YOU to rule on these issues?" He was right. He didn't know me. Even most rabbis are not trained on the intricacies of this area of law. I told him that I had special training in this area. He asked me "from whom?" I swallowed hard. I was trained by Rabbi Shammai Gross, one of the main halachic experts in the Belz Chasidic community in Jerusalem.I knew, however, that Belz and Satmar had been at odds for half a century. This man was Satmar. Would he throw me out of his office when I told him who had trained me? I finally said "I studied under Rabbi Shammai Gross". His face immediately lit up. "Yeah? Wonderful! Then I will tell you what I'm thinking". He went through all the considerations that I had pondered. He added several more! He even added one that I had never heard of! In the middle of his words, I interjected that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the great Sephardic rabbi, had written a comment on this point as well. As I said it, i realized that I might have put my foot in my mouth. Rabbi Ovadia was a former Chief Rabbi of Israel. This rabbi was anti-Zionist. To my great surprise, he said "Oh, I know, I'm already taking his view into consideration". I was shocked. I had referenced two rabbis whom, I thought, he would disparage. But no, his face was beaming! He finally ruled that the question I had brought was permissible. I was so overwhelmed by the way he handled the question, and how he had risen over politics, as well as over the confines of East European custom, and rendered a brave and true decision. I kissed his hands as I left.
In most Day Schools, students are handed lists of laws (Dinim). Do this, don't do that. At the Secondary level, they are usually directed to one law book or another, depending on the stance of the particular school or community. But halachah, at the level of the learned is nothing like this. There are equations that must be considered. The circumstance at hand, and the people involved, can, and often do, make a difference. Local practice will be a consideration, but not always the deciding factor. A true expert will rise above his own practices, and take the entire spectrum of opinion into consideration. Even more important, he may totally disagree with the ruling of another rabbi, but will still respect the man and his opinion, as long as it is based on sources. The rabbis of the Talmud tell us that the students of Hillel and Shammai had such great differences, that their strife nearly broke the Jewish people in two. A Heavenly Voice rang out in the study hall. "Both these and these are the words of the Living G-d. But the Halachah is in accordance with Hillel". Let us not be too hasty to judge that another rabbi, another community, another practice, is wrong. If it follows Torah sources and methodology, it, too, is the Word of the Living G-d.
In my coming post, I will give some examples not only of current controversies, but of how, and why, they are controversial in the first place, and how BOTH can be a respected part of the Halachic system