Asu Seyag La Torah 93
they addressed the will of the laity and because they were shown to be in keeping with the spirit of halakhic development.
Progressive halakhah has made remarkable advances during the last fifty years. Interest in Talmud and halakhah among Reform and Conservative laity continues to accelerate. Dozens of volumes of Reform responsa and other works on halekhah have been published. 5 The Freehof Institute of Progressive Halakhah has taken root and flourishes. In 1988, the Conservative movement began to publish its collections of responsa in order to foster the study and observance of halakhah by its members.®
There are many areas of growing cooperation and partnership between Conservative rabbis and those Reform rabbis who are committed to halakhic standards. Reform and Conserva tive halakhic methodologies are remarkably similar, even if we reach different conclusions.” I believe that the term“Progressive halakhah properly refers to both efforts. Both are seeking to offer a logical and vital alternative to the unacceptable extremes that plague the Jewish people: on the one hand, unrestrained autonomy with no communal standards, and on the other hand, repressive fundamentalism that champions medieval sensibility.
Progressive Halakhah does not aim to promote“neo-Ortho doxy, ” as some of its more assimilated critics charge. Nor is Progressive halakhah seeking to water down or trivialize Jewish tradition, as some of the uncompromising purists charge. In a nut- shell, Progressive halakhah, because it is a reflection of nonfundamentalist ideology, is far more willing to innovate and explore unique responses to the challenges that face modern Judaism . This paper seeks to provide a brief outline of the phenomenon of rabbinic legislation, the power to deviate from the literal word of the Torah , and the limits of that power.
Progressive Halakhahs vis-a-vis Orthodox Halakhah
Progressive halakhah openly embraces the scientific discoveries and inquiries that present such a grave intellectual indictment of Orthodoxy’s fundamentalism. We may confidently claim that Progressive Halakhah is the truest vehicle for maintaining and continuing the spirit and genius of Jewish thought and practice. Progressive halakhah is, however, a work in progress(much like the Jewish people). Before it will win the attention and respect of