Most of us think of Judaism as a religion, and of religions as tell
us certain things to do
and to believe. But why do what a ‘religion’ tells you to do?
In particular, what does it mean
that certain actions – keeping kosher, or shabbat, for example – are
“better” or “more holy” than
others? How can it be that God, or the world, cares whether or
not your lulav is shaped the right
way or your etrog isn’t broken?
In this class, we will spend a semester trying to answer these
questions by looking at
Jewish sources that grapple with them. We won’t be learning The
Jewish Answer to Everything.
But we will be looking at a few different Jewish answers to the question
of what halacha is
supposed to do, and what kind of human being it is meant to create.
Focusing on the works of
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, we will see that, at least in his perspective,
Jewish practice isn’t
really a “religion” at all; it has a very different purpose, and a
very different result in terms of the
kind of person who observes it.
We will also spend some time addressing the issue of halachic
change and authority.
When can halacha be changed? For what reason? By whom?
Must we as Good Jews believe
that every law we now have on the books was spoken at Sinai, or do
our traditional texts provide
other answers as well? Finally, what does all of this mean for
our practice as Jews today, as we
make our own decisions on What Matters Jewishly and generally?
1. Introduction
Introduction to the course and the syllabus. What is a “good
Jew”? Does Judaism ‘care more’
about what we believe or what we do? What are the consequences
for each position?
Text:
Excerpt from Hirsch text and Heschel text
2. Halachic Man, Scientific
Man, and Religious Man
Introduction to Soloveitchik’s contrast between ‘halachic man’ and
‘religious man’ (and
‘cognitive man’). Different conceptions of the Good as reflected
in these ideals: subjective and
objective, emotional/spiritual and ‘rational.’
Text:
Excerpts from R. Joseph Soloveitchik, Halachic Man
3. Halachic Man continued
The ‘personality’ of Halachic man; what kind of person is this system
creating? Examples from
our own lives; debate. How does Halachic man see a sunset?
Is this healthy, beautiful, or
upsetting?
Text:
Soloveitchik, Halachic Man
4. Holiness and Value
The concept of the “holy” according to religious man and halachic man;
‘arbitrariness’ of halacha
as contrasted with magic.
Text:
Excerpt from Jay Michaelson, Trying to Count the Stars
Excerpt from Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane
5. The Letter and the Spirit
Which is more important - following the letter of the law or following
the spirit of the law? Is it
a binary choice? If the law is really about changing your insides,
why obey the outsides? We
will continue the discussion from the last class regarding the ‘holy’
and plug them into different
concerns about having a ‘spirit’ or a soul.
Texts:
Excerpt from New Testament
Excerpt from Michaelson, Antilawyerism/Antisemitism
6. The letter and the spirit
part two: Beyond the letter of the law
In fact, despite the prevalence of ‘literalism’ in the Jewish law,
there is a strong insistence on
going beyond the letter of the law and not becoming the ‘decorated
tombs’ Matthew rails against.
We will do two hevruta units on aspects of this problem, and look at
some of the complexities
regarding it within Jewish law.
Texts:
Hevruta on Sanhedrin 74a.
Hevruta on gneivat daat
7. Halacha under Stress: Responsa
from the Holocaust
If we have so far understood a particular system of life, let’s see
how it works under stress. The
holocaust presented Halachic (and all other) philosophy with extremely
profound and difficult
issues, and the Halacha responded. Can we relate? Is this
beautiful, or insane?
Text:
Oshry, Responsa from the Holocaust
8. Summary and catch up
The Responsa from the Holocaust are difficult texts that deserve more
attention and we may
spend more time with them. We may also spend more time on the
hevruta material in unit six
and get a head start on the hevruta material in unit nine. We
will also summarize the first half of
the course and prepare for the units on Halachic change.
9. Halachic Change, part one:
Halacha and Revelation
Dispute within the Halacha; multiple answers may be correct, and yet
the halacha is still fixed.
How can this be? And if there are disputes, what is the revelation
that we understand coming
from God? Is it substance? Process? Both?
Texts:
Gittin 6 (elu v’elu); Eruvin 13
Avot 5.17 (machloket l’shem shamayim)
Midrash Shemot Raba (70 voices)
Megilla 9; Brachot 1
10. Halachic Change, part two: Tanur
Achnai
Who has the authority to set halacha – God or man? And yet, where
do we say halacha derives
its authority? What is going on?
Text:
Previous texts continued
Tanur Achnai: Baba Metzia 59
Shabbat 23a
Maimonides, Introduction to Commentary on Mishna
11. Halachic Change, part three: Modern
Applications
Using a now-infamous set of tshuvot from the Conservative movement
on the sabbath, we look at
when an Authoritative Body may consider changing the halacha.
(We will also discuss examples
in history such as the prozbul, the ban on polygamy, and the notions
of minhag k’halacha in the
haredi community.)
Text:
A Responsum on the Sabbath (and responses)
12. Conclusion: Halachic Man’s Worldview
and Life
We will conclude by looking at the ‘bigger picture’ of what kind of
world Halachic man inhabits,
and whether it makes sense to us: a world where the arrangement of
objects denotes holiness
Text:
Excerpt from Soloveitchik, Halachic Man
Excerpt from Michaelson, Trying to Count the Stars
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