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Meorot a Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse (Formerly the Edah Journal) Meorot A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse (formerly The Edah Journal) Shevat 5767 CONTENTS Introducing Meorot Dov Linzer Eugene Korn Editor’s Introduction to the Shevat 5767 Edition ARTICLES War and Jewish Tradition “Prohibited Wars” In Jewish Religious Law Aviezer Ravitzky Confronting Evil: Terrorists, Torture, the Military and Halakhah Dov S. Zakheim Conversation: Ethics and Warfare Aryeh Klapper Benjamin Ish-Shalom Michael J. Broyde Other On Divine Command Morality Michael J. Harris Eugene Korn Aggadic Man: The Poetry and Rabbinic Judaism of Abraham Joshua Heschel Alan Brill REVIEW ESSAYS Mi-Yosef Ad Yosef Lo Kam Ke-Yosef Marc B. Shapiro Meorot 6:1 Shevat 5767 A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family A Publication of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Life by Deena Zimmerman Rabbinical School © 2006 Aviad Stollman STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Meorot: A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse (formerly The Edah Journal) Statement of Purpose Meorot is a forum for discussion of Orthodox Judaism’s engagement with modernity, published by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. It is the conviction of Meorot that this discourse is vital to nurturing the spiritual and religious experiences of Modern Orthodox Jews. Committed to the norms of halakhah and Torah, Meorot is dedicated to free inquiry and will be ever mindful that “Truth is the seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He.” Editors Eugene Korn, Editor Nathaniel Helfgot, Associate Editor Joel Linsider, Text Editor Editorial Board Dov Linzer (YCT Rabbinical School), Chair Michael Berger Moshe Halbertal (Israel) Naftali Harcsztark Simcha Krauss Barry Levy Adam Mintz Tamar Ross (Israel) Meorot A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse Meorot will publish two online editions per year, and will be available periodically in hard- copy editions. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the views of YCT or the editorial board. YCT retains copyrights to all material published in the journal. Directions for Submissions Meorot invites submissions of original scholarly and popular essays, as well as new English translations of Hebrew works. Popular essays should be between 800-2000 words. The journal particularly welcomes halakhic, philosophic, and literary studies relating to qedushah in modern experience, the religious significance of the State of Israel, Jewish ethics, emerging Torah conceptions of and opportunities for women, Talmud Torah as an intellectual and spiritual discipline, pluralism, and Judaism’s relation to gentiles and contemporary culture. Submissions to Meorot should be sent online to [email protected], or mailed in duplicate to Editor, Meorot, c/o YCT Rabbinical School, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 244, New York, N.Y. 10015. Submissions should include a one paragraph abstract and one line biography of the author. Paper submissions should be accompanied by a diskette with essay in RTF, TXT or MSWORD format. Notes should appear as footnotes. Communications should be directed to the above email address. Reader responses should be sent to the editor at [email protected] for possible electronic publication at the journal’s website. Meorot © 2006 Graphic Design: Erica Weisberg A Publication of Technical Assistant: Joshua Dubin Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Introducing Meorot Welcome to the inaugural issue of Meorot: A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse. When Edah closed last summer, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School was offered the unique opportunity to sponsor the publication of Edah’s journal. The Edah Journal began publication in Marheshvan 5761 (November, 2000), and since then it has become one of the most widely-read and highly-regarded English-language journals devoted to issues of Orthodoxy and modern religious life. Under the leadership of its editor, Dr. Eugene Korn, the journal has addressed some of the most important and sensitive issues facing our community in an honest, thoughtful and balanced manner. The articles published are always intellectually rigorous and thought provoking. The journal’s most outstanding characteristic, however, has been its commitment to create a forum for the many voices in the spectrum of Modern Orthodoxy. Indeed, many believe that its most successful issues have been those that, like the current issue of Meorot, present דמתוך כך ידקדקו בדבר :(divergent perspectives on a single issue. In the words of Tosafot (Niddah 20b, s.v. Agmirei Through such repeated asking [of the same halakhic question to multiple“—ופעמים שהראשון טועה ויצא הדבר לאורה authorities] the two sides pay scrupulous attention to the matter and when there are times where the first one has made an error this process will allow the matter to come to light.” The guiding principle of this journal has been and will continue to be that only through open and honest discourse will the greatest truth emerge. We have chosen the name Meorot as the new name for the journal to reflect this principle. The Torah teaches us that on the fourth day of creation, God created not just the sun, a single, large luminary, but meorot—many luminaries, each one an object of beauty, each one shedding its own distinctive light. The light of the sun is strong, but it can also be glaring, and there are times when we must see a certain object by moonlight or by starlight to fully appreciate its subtleties and its hidden beauties. And then there are times when none of these luminaries will do, times when we have to look into the hidden recesses of a matter and only the more focused .can provide the necessary illumination ,יפה לבדיקה that is אור הנר light of the candle, the With the continued publication of Meorot, we are committed to continuing to provide a forum where each of the luminaries in our community can shed his or her distinctive light, bringing beauty and illumination to our religious and intellectual world, and ensuring that through this process the greatest truth will come to light. Rabbi Dov Linzer, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Chair, Editorial Board Meorot represents a partnership between what was previously The Edah Journal and its new sponsor, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. YCT is the perfect partner for the journal, since YCT is committed to the very values that have guided The Edah Journal during its six years of publication: a thriving interpretation of Orthodoxy open to all kelal yisrael, the religious ideal of Orthodox Jews participating in modern pluralistic society, an uncompromising dedication to truth, and a reflective Orthodoxy that grapples with modernity’s challenges. Since The Edah Journal began publication, its website has attracted more than 10,000 readers each month from the academic and Jewish communities. Although we have changed name, Meorot will hew closely to the same philosophy and editorial policy that made The Edah Journal so successful. I am pleased to welcome new members to the Meorot editorial board. R. Dov Linzer will chair the board and R. Nathaniel Helfgot of YCT has assumed the role of Associate Editor, taking over from R. Naftali Harcsztark, who continues to serve on the board. Dr. Michael Berger of Emory University, and R. Adam Mintz of Queens College, CUNY have also joined our editorial team. Eugene Korn Editor, Meorot Merorot A Publication of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Editor’s Introduction to the Shevat 5767 Edition Eugene Korn Welcome to the Shevat 5767 edition of Meorot! but the rudiments of such a philosophy, i.e., chapter As both R. Dov Linzer’s and my prior 20 of Deuteronomy, commanded war (“milhemet statements indicate, Meorot is proud to mitsvah”) and permitted war (“milhemet reshut”), but a continue the editorial philosophy of its robust theory and normative guidelines await predecessor, The Edah Journal. To emphasize development out of these sources. Perhaps the this continuity, we have designated this edition essays contained in this edition will contribute as Volume 6, Number 1, positioning it as the toward that contemporary enterprise. successor to the last edition of The Edah Journal (5:2). Just war theory distinguishes between ius ad bellum—justificatory conditions for going to war— The renowned political theorist Michael and ius in bellum—guidelines for conduct in war Walzer has observed that “Jewish war, for the that render the fighting morally acceptable. Meorot last two thousand years, is a mythical beast. is proud to publish Aviezer Ravitsky’s critical None of the rabbis after Akiva had any study, “Prohibited Wars in Jewish Religious Law,” experience of war making. This is one of the which takes up Jewish considerations of ius ad meanings of exile: Jews were the victims, not bellum. One of the finest minds of our generations, the agents, of war.” At the dawn of the twenty Professor Ravitsky is now recuperating from first century, however, Jews willy-nilly find severe head wounds sustained in a recent traffic themselves in a different historical and moral accident. We at Meorot—indeed the entire Jewish position. The State of Israel has been tragically world—pray fervently for his complete and Meorot trapped by her hostile neighbors in a brutal speedy recovery, and that he is able to continue A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse and unrelenting condition of war. And in the his prodigious contributions to Jewish culture and participatory democracy of America, Jews are spiritual life. Ravitsky attempts to rebut Walzer’s called upon to fight, command soldiers, vote claim that there is no category of forbidden war in for officials and even help decide policy of Jewish tradition. He argues that prohibited war is when and how Americans fight her enemies. the default, and therefore the prevalent, category. This new historical reality has forced moral Commanded and permitted wars constitute and religious questions onto the Jewish agenda: exceptions, and today only defensive wars could Is there a Jewish theory of war, and if not, can be properly authorized by Jewish tradition.
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