We cannot accord to the classical literary sources of the halakhah more than a presumptive authority, and therefore what they legislate needs to be weighed against the individual conscience, the needs and consensus of the community, and still other considerations including historical and scientific knowledge as relevant.” These are among the factors and considerations which a liberal Jew should critically weigh when deciding whether to observe a particular mitzvah.
7. Responsibility to the Covenant Community
Jakob J. Petuchowski claims that"Everything...which contributes to the survival and to the unity of the Covenant Community of Israel must be regarded as a religious commandment. Everything, on the other hand, which hurts the Covenant must be avoided. Bearing this perspective in mind, the Reform Jew will observe many a mitzvah toward which he might feel no personal obligation" because it is not"a matter of the individual only(but) also of the community as a whole." i%e
According to this principle, our pesikah must take into consideration more than our own synagogue, community and movement. We must be aware of the ramifications of our halakhic decisions on kelal yisrael. When dealing with issues relating to marriage and personal status, to the physical and spiritual welfare of Jews outside of our community and to the relationship between Jews of the diaspora and Israel , we must be mindful of our being one people. In spite of diversification and severe conflict, we are all of us bound by that divinely contractual berit which our ancestors and we made with the God of Israel.
There is, of course, the possibility that some of these seven criteria may be mutually contradictory when applied to a specific situation. For example, this last criterion of responsibility to kelal yisrael may conflict with the principle of pluralism discussed above.
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