Contemporary Issues In Halakhah (Jewish Law)

by Rabbi David Golinkin - President, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, where he also serves as a Professor of Jewish Law; Chair, Va'ad Halakhah (law Committee) of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel

In terms of quantity, Halakhah is one of the largest fields in Jewish literature. A new bibliography of the responsa literature lists 5300 different volumes or sets of responsa published since the advent of printing. During the past 200 years, society, medicine and technology have changed at such a rapid rate that rabbis and poskim (halakhic authorities) have been forced to deal with many new issues our ancestors could not even have imagined. Women in the synagogue, thousands of agunot unable to obtain a get, cloning, transplants, Shabbat clocks, space travel, the Shoah, the Israeli army – these are just a few of the topics that have been discussed by modern rabbis.

The following English books are a must for Conservative Jews who want to increase their knowledge of Jewish law.

• Elliot Dorff, Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics (Jewish Publication Society, 1998). A good survey of Jewish medical ethics by a leading Conservative expert.
• David M. Feldman, Birth Control in Jewish Law: Marital Relations, Contraception and Abortion [in] Jewish Law, various publishers, 1968, 1970, 1995.
• David Golinkin, Halakhah for Our Time: A Conservative Approach to Jewish Law (United Synagogue, 1991). A brief introduction to the topic with an extensive bibliography.
• David Golinkin, Responsa in a Moment: Halakhic Responses to Contemporary Issues (Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, 2000). A collection of responsa originally published in Moment magazine from 1990-1996 on issues such as the kashrut of veal, genetic engineering and returning territories for the sake of peace.
• Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice (Jewish Theological Seminary, 1979). This is the standard code of Jewish Law for Conservative Jews, which explains not only how to observe Jewish Law, but also why.
• Isaac Klein, Responsa and Halakhic Studies (Ktav, 1975; second edition, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, 2004). A collection of responsa on issues such as abortion, autopsy and business ethics by a leading Conservative posek.
• Proceedings of the Committee of Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement, 1927-2000, various editors, 6 volumes, 1988-2002. Collected responsa of the CJLS. (The last volume is entitled Responsa.)
• Joel Roth, The Halakhic Process: A Systemic Analysis, (Jewish Theological Seminary, 1986). An important introduction to the workings and philosophy of Jewish law by a leading Conservative posek.