tragically unresolved problems of conversions made difficult or virtually impossible in many countries as well as the stumbling blocks of halizah, mamzerim, and other menuai hitun(unattached young Jews who are forbidden to marry their beloved)- all in the name of the halakhah! We have witnessed the obscurantism of some poskim in positions of political power who coerce nonOrthodox Jews in matters of personal statue. They often seem to be acting in accordance with the view of the Hatam Sofer that "anything new is forbidden in the Torah " and"the old and antiquated is always better.’ Many have turned away from religious Judaism and from the synagogue believing that these phenomena represent the exclusive approach of the halakhah.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to make explicit the implicit principles of morality and humanism in Jewish law and apply them to the painful problems and tragic issues of our day and search for appropriate halakhic solutions. This is what I have attempted to do in exploring the above seven criteria of pesikah, which are but a few of many such essential principles.
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Do these criteria constitute a radical departure from the spirit of our millennial tradition? On the contrary, I believe that these principles may indeed be the fulfillment of a significant trend in the philosophical and halakhic thought of our sages.
Joseph Albo , the great 15th century philosopher , asks in his Sefer Haikarim, why God did not spell out in his Torah the specific details of the mitzvot for all generations and in all circumstances. Should not the omniscient Creator have let us know in advance the solutions of all our halakhic problems from the religious status of women and men to medical transplants?
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