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May 4, 1979

A Philosophy of Halacha that Depends on One Letter (1979)

Halachik Method
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The Shaping of Halacha in Every Generation - Lecture Notes (1975)

1. My task – react to R's presentation. I take it as almost aromatic that if to him, I may well appear runcticinan. Gen'n: agree his formal'n problems, but slayt'l art in sol'n. 2. Unguest'y – stagnation – more, no time goes on. I'm not referring to historical omit comit'y but to organic, age-old way that then has always responded to new challenges. R Gave some examples. More can be added. Perhaps diagnosis to prescription. 3. Q J and Hla address self to: Why? Full q do not exhaust various motivation but instructive ponder at least these...
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Note

The Shaping of Halacha in Every Generation (1975)

The encounter of Halakhah with reality is an instance of the confrontation of the changeless with the changing. Every generation poses new problems, and these must be responded to by Halakhah. Orthodoxy today is not lacking in scholarship or in dedication. We are deficient, however, in the forms and emphases of education in Halakhah. Our structure of higher education has not encouraged the development of halakhic respondents and decisors who can operate in that tension between the fixed principles of the Law and the flux of reality.Our best schools have produced practicing Rabbis and knowledgeable laymen, and rashei yeshivah. But we have hardly created any posekim and meshivim. It is analogous to a country which has lawyers and professors of law, but no judges. As a result, the very natural and organic development of a responsive Halakhah has been largely furstrated. Some of our best young scholars are theoreticians who see the Halakhah as a logically consistent, abstract system, but are not sufficiently interested in its dynamic quality of relating to changing situations.The greatest respondents of our day are men of advanced age. It is imperative that we restructure our rabbinic educational system -- as well as our societal system of rewards and recognition — to favor the emergence of scholars who will understand the application of Halakhah to ever-changing realities. What has been done in every generation in the past, and is being done to a large extent in Israel today, must and can be done in the U.S.But this kind of scholar must be fully if painfully aware of the social, cultural, and psychological climate of our times. Legislation and judgments are of little value if pronounced in a vacuum. The decisors for our generation must be sufficiently versed in the culture of our times to understand the technological and social consequences of the issues which they are called upon to judge. They must be aware of the tension between the age-old demand for the integrity…
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Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Feldblum about Maimonides' View of Post-Second Temple Halacha (1970)

Dear Meyer Simcha: I am sorry that I had to leave early this past Sunday, in the midst of the remarks of the third speaker. But I am very pleased, indeed, that I had the opportunity to hear all your remarks in your lecture. I was fascinated by your theory of the Halakhah according to Maimonides, especially the concept that a conscious decision was made at the time of the destruction of the Temple to opt for the unity of the people at the expense of greater flexibility and fluidity in halakhic decision-making. If this theory can be substantiated, I think it will be a most important contribution to the philosophy of Halakhah.As you so rightly implied, the whole discussion is "dangerous," but that is no excuse for failing to confront it squarely even while being circumspect.I strongly urge you to write up your ideas, including both segments, the scholarly-historical, and the contemporary, and publish it. Until you do, I would very much appreciate receiving from you basic references, especially to Maimonides and any modern historians, to allow me my own satisfaction as to the basic validity of the idea.Once again, it was a genuine pleasure hearing you, and I do hope we shall have many opportunities to meet personally.Cordially yours,RABBI NORMAN LAMM
Halachik Method