MARK WASHOVSKY

exclusively academic enterprise; it takes shape within history and is thoroughly shaped by history. Jewish law"is influenced by the attitudes, conscious or unconscious, of its practitioners toward the wider demands and ideals of Judaism and by the social, economic, theological, and political conditions that occur when the ostensibly purely legal norms and methodology are developed." The halakhic decisions of rabbinic scholars are thus guided by"extra-halakhic" motivations that represent the scholars’ interpretive understanding of"general Jewish values." Jacobs charts the variety of outside factors that have influenced halakhah through its history, showing how each of them- philosophy, mysticism, Hasidism , and encounter with the non-Jewish world- has left its mark on Jewish law. He describes in detail the adaptations made by the halakhic tradition to changing social needs, popular practice, and new technologies. Responding to these extra-halakhic influences, poskim have found ways to justify numerous innovations in the law. They have set aside Talmudic assumptions on human nature and behavior when subsequent observation has shown that these have changed. They have incorporated new conceptions of ethical conduct and good manners(derekh eretz) into the process of legal decision. While rabbis often describe this process as purely conceptual and theoretical in nature, history shows that Jewish law results from a dynamic interaction between Judaism 's legal tradition and its highest ethical and spiritual ideals. Legitimacy, then, is to be found in the historical process: If Jewish law has always accommodated to change, there is no reason to suppose that such change cannot continue.® The rich detail provided by Jacobs proves beyond any reasonable doubt that halakhah has a history characterized by "diversity, flexibility, and creativity." It serves as well to support his contention that innovative and dynamic answers to the pressing problems on today’s Jewish legal agenda’ are fully in keeping with the spirit of the halakhic tradition.