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Interview

October 13, 1966

R. Lamm: Halacha Doesn't Change Like Fashion (1966)

Torah & Science Halachik Method
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Speech

Halachah in the Age of Science (1959)

The challenge posed by the changing world scene to traditional Judaism in its philosophical aspects has been discussed by previous lecturers. The advent of modern science brought with it a new conception of the universe and of man’s place within it, and Judaism was required to respond. This philosophical dialogue is of great significance. But ultimately, Judaism’s survival depends on Halakhah. If Halakhah is not preserved, then no matter how successful the philosophical adjustments, Judaism will not endure. Conversely, if Halakhah can be preserved within the changing world, then philosophers may struggle – but they will have something of enduring value to reflect on.Just as the philosophies nourished by modern science conflicted with Jewish philosophy, so too the practical discoveries and inventions of natural science presented great challenges to the halakhist. And just as in natural science the science itself is primary and philosophy flows from it, so too in Judaism – Halakhah is the given, the primary datum, the raw material. Philosophy must grow out of Halakhah, not the reverse.Indeed, the modern age of science has posed mighty challenges to Halakhah:Artificial insemination (late 19th century – reproduction without copulation) Electricity, radio, television – including ethical questions of communication Halakhah had three options in response to modern science and technology:A) Succumb – argue that Halakhah and science occupy different worlds and Halakhah is therefore obsolete; permit anything new by default B) Ignore – retreat into the ghetto, declare all innovation forbidden C) Creative Response – treat the challenge of modernity as a catalyst for internal growthIt is a testimony to the inner vitality of Halakhah that it chose the third path.As one editorial in Science put it, “dither” – kinetic friction is better than static inertia. Halakhah has always existed “in a dither” – from the days of Moses until today – and it is precisely this tension that has kep…
Torah & Science Halachik Method

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…
Halachik Method

Correspondence

Exchange with Dr. Koppel about His Scholarship on Meta-Halacha (1995)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, First, I am happy to report that we expect to receive the Higayon book from the printer next week and I will be sending you 25 copies as agreed. Second, I was wondering whether you received the manuscript I dropped off with your secretary before Pesach. Do you have any comments? Are you willing to provide a blurb? Best wishes to you and your family for a חג שמח. בצפיח לגאולה שלמה, Moshe Koppel
Torah & Science Halachik Method