102 Mark Washofsky

even vital social practice.” Rather, to call privacy a“progressive” value is to say that, given the profound respect accorded to individual rights and freedom in liberal thought, it is difficult to imagine any sort of liberal or progressive world view that does not place a strong emphasis upon the protection of something called “personal privacy,” however that value is constructed in specific terms. With respect to methodology, Rakover takes the path of interpretive flexibility: general, fundamental principles in the halakhah are not simply empty bromides but serve as intellectual resources that facilitate the development of legal innovation, interpretation and legislation to meet the challenges of every age. We encounter the same tendency, as is well known, in the writings of liberal halakhists who cite such principles as proof of the creativity and dynamism of Jewish law.”

Rakover’s“progressive” halakhic tendencies are visible, too, in his long-standing affiliation with the academic movement known as mishpat ivri(“Jewish Law”). Although its overall program was to apply the tools of contemporary academic research to the study of Jewish law and legal history, a major goal of mishpat ivri has been to make traditional Jewish law, especially in its monetary and procedural aspects, the operative legal structure of the state of Israel , or, failing that, to integrate Jewish law into the Israeli legal system to the greatest extent feasible.* In pursuit of these ends, the rabbi-jurists associated with the movement have studied classical Jewish legal institutions with a view towards“updating” or “modernizing” them, translating their ancient and medieval literary and conceptual mode of expression into a form that serves the needs of a modern sovereign state. This effort, which has sparked considerable political and academic controversy,” bears at least 2 strong family resemblance to our progressive halakhic thought. It is, for one thing, positive and affirming in outlook. Like progressive halakhists, mishpat ivri scholars see Jewish law as a dynamic entity that is capable of development and that possesses the creative resources to respond positively to the conditions of modernity. Moreover, it is a profoundly liberal enterprise. That is to say, far from assuming a reactionary stance against the cultural