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When Ethics and Halacha Collide Harold Schulweis common, rather than to accentuate the differences. — whether they identify with the Movement or Let me comment on some of the specific obser- not. vations of Rabbi Cohen. The distinction between d'oraita and d'rabbanan, When ethics and halacha collide mentioned in the Report, is, as the statement itself avers, attended by a certain amount of Harold Schulweis "ambiguity." The distinction is not dependent I like Seymour Siegel because, truth be told, he on historical provenance. It is rather a way of paskens (decides halachic questions) to my liking. differentiating between traditional norms which And that is part of the difficulty in his answer to can be changed only after much deliberation and my friend Jack J. Cohen whom I also like. A hala- those about which we can be more relaxed. The chist responsive to the needs and moral sensibili- distinction between d'oraita and d'rabbanan is an ties of a community raises the credibility in the ! important one for the guidance ofjewish law- halachic process. But what of those Conservative makers and interpreters. It is not a distinction halachists, equally attached to Siegel's defense of based on assertions about historical origins. the "structure and predictability" of halachah, who, on those very grounds, reject the moral A Combination of Influences Shape Change motivations which led to such progressive Con- When it is asserted that change in Jewish law servative legislation for its instability and should flow from inner forces, it does not mean unpredictability? that there are no outside influences. It does mean A distinguished teacher and colleague of Siegel's, that the outside forces are evaluated by organic Professor David Weiss Halivni, maintains that trends within the community. The community for the Rabbis of the Talmud, and assumedly for responding to its own inner character, rejects, contemporary halachists, in a conflict between accepts, or modifies intellectual and cultural morality and halachic precedent, morality must trends coming from outside the Jewish com- recede. The Rabbis could offer no conscious munity. This is what Solomon Schechter meant consideration to morality in their alteration of by "Catholic Israel." the law, since such an argument would impugn The issue as to the speed and rate of change in the divine Lawgiver with a lack of moral sensi- society is a venerable dilemma in political and tivity. Thus despite the consensus gentium, shared religious as well as legal philosophy. There are by the Rabbis, opposing the cruel legal treatment those that believe that the social fabric is of a child born out of an illicit relationship, the retained by slow and deliberate change. Others Rabbis could not free themselves from their demand revolutionary changes when necessary. biblical and halachic bind on moral grounds alone. The issue divides Edmund Burke from the In fact, Halivni suggests, precisely because French Revolutionaries, Z. Frankel from A. rabbinic criticism of the harsh penalities against Geiger, and conservatives from liberals. This has the mamzer (illegitimate child) and his heirs were nothing to do with honesty or dishonesty. It does consciously moral, the law could not be altered. have to do with differing evaluations of social Whatever subconscious moral factors we may trends. sense lying behind rabbinic changes, only exegetical and casuistic arguments were deemed Judicial vs. Legislative Approach to Law acceptable. If predictability and structure are the strengths of a halachic position, then the strict Reconstructionists and others can, if they wish, constructionists seem to have the distinct propose a legislative approach to Jewish law, advantage. relying on popular will. We, in general, opt for a judicial process which relies on interpretation of Is Law Separate Or Derived From Morality? precedents. It should, however, be noted that the There is something deeper here between Cohen Report of the Commission was crafted by an and Siegel than the question as to whether we call inter-disciplinary group representing the laity a position authoritarian or "democratic," "post- and the rabbinate. halachic" or halachic; something more than belief The Conservative Movement is trying to be loyal claims in "Divine revelation" and legislation; to the principles upon which it was founded — a something more than the distinctions between dynamic, bold and creative approach to Jewish d'oraita and. d'rabbanan. At the heart of the halachah law. The success of this effort is vital for all Jews issue lies the question of moral theology. Is 13 Divinity revealed through exegetical and her- Many women married to rabbis are looking at meneutic skills or through the conscious moral their lives and feeling especially constrained. sense of scholars who come to conclusions by Society is unable and unwilling to regard married rationally applying and evaluating the relevance women as individuals; Jewish tradition describes and consequences of Jewish moral principles? the role of the rabbi's wife. What these women Put another way, we are, all of us who revere are feeling underscores unresolved issues which halachah, confronted with a Kantian alternative. affect all of us: the relationship of women to the Does the law, Biblical or Rabbinic, stand inde- Jewish community and society at large, and the pendent of moral reason; or is the law derivative special expectations we have of our leaders. of moral imperatives? Where the debates are over amoral issues, such questions may be (I recognize some rabbis have husbands; I ignored. But where the concerns pit law against recognize not all rabbis serve congregations; I morality, e.g., agunah (woman whose husband has recognize our Christian sisters have heavier disappeared), the limitations set upon the burdens; I recognize many women married to proselyte, women's rights, mamzerut, there the rabbis do not feel constrained.) status assigned to moral considerations is para- Spouses' Involvement in CCAR Increases mount. Six years ago I married a rabbi; five years ago I Not the sociology or the psychology but the began working with the Central Conference of morality of halachah is the hard question. Does American Rabbis (CCAR) on a convention halachah exemplify the moral imperatives of program for rabbis' spouses which would parallel Judaism and in that sense is divine, or does the rabbis' study sessions. About 400 spouses halachah transcend and even demolish the responded to a survey we took. From the mountains of morality before its judgments? respondents we selected women of various ages, Back to the Euthyphro: Is halachah good because attitudes, and experiences as panelists and group it is the word of God or is it the word of God leaders. j J because it is good? And do we deny or affirm that The sessions met our highest expectations: they we know what is good? If all laws in principle are were well-attended, provocative, and satisfying; a subject to change on moral grounds, then in what diverse group of women got acquainted; we sense does law provide structure and predicta- identified areas of greatest concern; and there bility? If the laws are impervious to moral argument, do we not risk the sanctification of was impetus for future programming. The one immoral judgment? expressed disappointment was that more rabbis were not present to hear and respond. Whether you answer "yes" or "no" to belief in The CCAR established a Task Force on Rabbinic halachah or divine revelation is not revealing. To Family Relationships which is now a standing paraphrase Feuerbach, even the devil believes in committee of CCAR members and spouses who divine revelation. What is helpful is knowing plan sessions for rabbis and spouses at conven- what criteria you use for making halachic tions. Many rabbis attend and participate decisions and what criteria you use to determine although others, significantly, perceive the issues which word comes from God. raised as "ladies' problems." The committee encourages programming about the rabbi's Another side of the rabbi: the family family at Union of American Hebrew Congre- j I gation conventions, distributes reading materials, , Sherry Levy-Reiner and works with the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion on student pro- No one expects a surgeon's spouse to scrub for gramming. every operation the surgeon performs or an attorney's spouse to witness every document the Rabbinic Family Needs Must be Discussed attorney executes. Yet some people expect a Such activity is both cathartic and reassuring for woman who is married to a congregational rabbi those involved. For many rabbis and their to participate fully in her husband's "practice." spouses, especially those in isolated com- And even liberated Jews, themselves anxious to munities, such sessions provide the only be regarded as individuals, introduce many a opportunity to speak frankly with someone teacher, psychologist, or friend as simply "the whom they believe can truly empathize. For rabbi's wife. " some, the discussions provide practical sug- 14 .
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