Rabbi Richard S. Rheins

Religious authorities always encouraged greater observance and piety. To combat assimilation, laxity, superstition and igno­rance, Rabbis have issued countless gezerot and takkanot. In addi­tion, minhagim(customs) have been promoted, but rabbis may not issue mandates that are contrary to the popular will. Some­times Rabbis have tried to eliminate a popular custom that they find inconsistent with the Jewish ideal.

The refusal of the majority of Jews to accept an ordinance not only prevents the new decree from taking effect, it also nullifies a longstanding rabbinic prohibition. As Rambam wrote:

If the court has issued a gezerah in the belief that the majority of the community could endure it, and after the enactment thereof the people made light of it and it was not accepted by the majority, the decree is void and the court is denied the right to coerce the people to abide by it. If after a decree had been promulgated, the court was of the opinion that it was universally accepted by Israel and noth­ing was done about it for years, and after the lapse of a long period a later court investigates the doings of Israel and finds that the decree is not generally accepted, the latter court, even if it is inferior to the former in wisdom and number, is authorized to abrogate it (Mamrim 2.6-7).

Just as the Rabbis were restricted by popular will from issu­ing overly burdensome gezerot, so, too, they werecautioned against being overly permissive:“Any court that permits two things that have been declared forbidden should hesitate about permitting a third thing(Mamrim 2.8).”

Practical Applications of Progressive Halakhah

From this brief review of halakhic legislation, it is clear that Pro­gressive halakhah has an important and valid mission in the strug­gle against assimilation and secularism. Liberal Judaism can serve the masses of Israeli Jews caught between an oppressive medieval ultra-Orthodoxy and the crass emptiness of secularism. Progressive halakhah must follow the lead of our ancestral sages and find innovations, interpretations and applications that pre­serve essential Jewish principles while renewing Judaism 's vital­ity and relevancy. Asu seyag laTorah is a mandate to change when necessary. The changes must be in consonance with the majority.