ing commandments runs contrary to the traditional nely derived and
liberal process of ren decisors would proba
process of choos view of the absolute authority of the divi sanctioned halakhah.
The following principles and criteria for determining the applicable halakhic stance for a Progressive Jew were gleaned from a number of Jewish thinkers of this century. Some of them are identified as Progressive scholars, others as Orthodox or Conservative. Their approach to halakhah rather than movement affiliation determines their inclusion in this paper. Here is a brief outline of precepts and criteria for pesikah,(rendering decisions) and selecting viable mitzvot to be observed within a liberal halakhic
framework:
1. The halakhah is a developmental and changing phenomenon
In the brief that I submitted to the Israel Supreme Court to counter the Chief Rabbinate’s view of the immutability of Jewish law, I contended that"The halakhah has continually developed and changed in confronting changing reality in every generation." The history of Jewish law from the Biblical period to this day is replete with changes such as substituting study and prayer for sacrifices, to upgrading the status of women(no kidushin or divorce without feminine consent) to allowing conversion for the sake of marriage.’
These are but a few of a myriad developments within the halakhah, which, according to Robert Gordis , result from outward influences and inner ethical insights. Gordis points out that these two factors have contributed to growth and change in the halakhah: "The first was the necessity to respond to new external conditions-social, economic, political or cultural that posed a challenge or even a threat to accepted religious and ethical values. The second was the need to give recognition to new ethical insights and attitudes
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