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Responsa

Single Women Who Want to Have a Baby

Rabbi Cherlow is Rosh Yeshiva of the Hesder Yeshiva of Petach Tikva. He wrote the following two responsa, which appeared in Hebrew on his Yeshiva’s website ypt.co.il. He has given permission to the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals to have the responsa translated and published in English. The following translation is by Bentsi Cohen. Rabbi Cherlow has written: “I received a great many responses to this article. The large majority touched on the question whether it was at all appropriate to publicize my position on this issue, or should such topics be dealt with privately out of concern for the 'slippery slope'. My position on this is found in the articles themselves. I think it proper to very much narrow the gap between those things discussed in extreme privacy and those which are discussed openly in public as a halakhic stand. Only a minority of those who disagreed with me disagreed on the contents of what I wrote.”

 

Question to Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, Rosh Yeshiva of the Hesder Yeshiva of Petach Tikva:

 

I ask you to bravely write an answer to a question that has been disturbing me very much for quite some time. I am a thirty-six years old woman, rather pretty, educated and well taken care of, who has been attempting for over fifteen years to get married, but to no avail…

 

Implications of the Current Conversion Crisis

Rabbi Alan Yuter is Rabbi of B'nai Israel, the Orthodox congregation of downtown Baltimore.

1. A recent conversion case

Recently, a Hareidi rabbinical court in Monsey, NY, required that a family (which includes a parent who converted to Judaism) commit to educate their children in a Hareidi school, un-enroll their children in the modern Orthodox school, and leave the community with which they affiliate. The Hareidi rabbinical court did not even contact the modern Orthodox community, school, or rabbinate to fact find regarding the family. The modern Orthodox school feels rejected, dejected, angry, and is in a quandary as how to respond. A suggested response is to disallow and to reject the conversions of the offending rabbinical court

2. What are kosher conversion standards?

Beards and Jews

Rabbi Jack Simcha Cohen of the Orthodox synagogue of West Palm Beach, Florida, is a frequent contributor to our website.

#000000">Question: Is it traditional for Jews to have beards?#000000; font-family: Arial"> #000000; font-family: Arial">#000000">Response: When Jews are requested to visualize an image of an authentic Torah leader, I am positive that hardly any will present a picture of a clean-shaven rabbi.

Questioning the Status of a Halakhic Conversion is anti-Halakhic and Unethical

Rabbi Yuter is the Rabbi of B'nai Israel, the Orthodox congregation of downtown Baltimore.

Question: What is the status of the 'extra' conversion immersion [tevila leHumra] demanded by some Orthodox rabbis?

Answer:

1. The minimum standard required by Jewish law is that the rabbinical court consist of three observant laymen. Once the convert is accepted by the court, the conversion takes effect and without cause, may not be called into question.

2. a. The converting rabbinical court may include Orthodox rabbis who are themselves converts. [Hoshen Mishpat 7:1] Rabbis need not go through hoops to forbid the permitted on the part of parochials who either do not know or do not accept Jewish law.

Confidentiality and Professional Ethics

Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen is Rabbi of Congregation Aitz  Chaim in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is the author of books and articles on halakhic topics.

Question: Confidentiality
is a vital concern that impacts the freedom of expression of quite a
number of professions. Many professionals receive confidential information
as part and parcel of their normal involvement with their clients and/or
patients. Rabbis are also privy to confidential data. At issue is whether
halakha (Jewish law) provides any guidelines or rules pertaining to
this matter?  

The Impact of Tearful Prayers

Rabbi Cohen is rabbi of Congregation Aitz Chaim in West Palm Beach, Florida. Recipient of the Jerusalem Award, he is author of six books on Jewish law.

Question: The Talmud contends that "from the day that the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the gates of prayer were locked...but the gates of tears were never sealed". (Bava Metzia 59a-Berakhot 32b) The implication is that tears have an impact upon prayers. Or better yet, tearful prayers are always in order. How are tearful prayers more significant or potent than simple prayers without tears?

A New Analysis of "Kol B'Isha Erva"

Harav David Bigman is Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Maale Gilboa. This responsum was translated by Yedidya Schwartz.

There is no prohibition whatsoever of innocent singing; rather, only singing intended for sexual stimulation, or flirtatious singing, is forbidden. Although this distinction is not explicit in the early rabbinic sources, it closely fits the character of the prohibition as described in different contexts in the Talmud and the Rishonim, and it is supported by the language of the Rambam, the Tur, and the Shulchan Arukh.

Q: We have a practice in our school, in ceremonies organized for various events, that a female student sings as part of the ceremony. Is this practice halakhically acceptable?

Pikuah Nefesh and the Economic Crisis

Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen is Rabbi of Congregation Aitz Chaim in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is author of six books of Jewish law.

Question: A person is an essential member of a United States governmental committee to resolve the current economic crisis.Of concern, Is whether the crisis is deemed a form of Pikuach Nefesh(a danger to life) This classification grants one permission to violate the Shabbat in order to extricate oneself (or a group of people)from this dangerous status.
Response:The following actual case took place.

Reporting and Prosecuting Jewish Criminals: Halakhic Concerns

Question: Does Jewish Law impose a responsibility to prevent criminal action? Does Halakha sanction reporting Jewish criminals to secular authorities? May an Orthodox Jew prosecute Jewish criminals?

Rabbi Hayyim Hirschensohn - The Forgotten Sage Who Was Rediscovered

Dr. David Zohar, a clinical psychologist from Tel Aviv, Israel, founded a project to republish an updated version of Rabbi Hayyim Hirschensohn's writings. The objective is to bring these works to the public's knowledge, as they can offer a modern religious Jew ways in which one can combine modern values together with Jewish Values. This new version which contains comments and explanations to better understand the writings and their context, by Dr. David Zohar, was published in 2006. Dr. Zohar is currently working on the second book, Malki Bakodesh Part II. Copies of the books can be obtained from the Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem or from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. This article appeared in the first issue of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals.

Rabbi Hayyim Hirschensohn (1856-1935), who lived and worked in Jerusalem and in the United States at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, was born in Tzfat. His thought has intrigued many Jews who strive to combine Judaism and modernity, religion and life, thereby seeking to resolve the conflict between their firm commitment to Halakha and their growing openness to the modern world. R. Hayyim Hirschensohn was one of the few among the Religious- Zionist thinkers who confronted the challenges of modernity and grappled with the intricate halakhic problems inherent in the establishment of a modern Jewish state.

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