MARK WASHOVSKY

integrity. This criticism is nonetheless flawed, quite apart from the problem of imputing objective standards of knowledge to the humanities and to law in general, because it exaggerates the objectivity of traditional rabbinic responsa. As our analysis demonstrates, the halakhah in this hard case is indeterminate precisely because the rabbinic respondents do not(and presumably cannot) derive their conclusion without making choices between available alternatives. No calculus exists to fix with any precision how these choices are to be made, to identify which methods of reasoning are to be employed, which precedents are to be held authoritative, which policy considerations are to be brought into play and how much weight is to be attributed to them. And the responsa in which these choices occur are all perfectly"Orthodox "; no one questions their legitimacy as documents of halakhah. Our own responsa, afflicted as they are with the same essential indeterminacy, are thus not that different in style from their Orthodox counterparts.

Our own efforts, therefore, cannot be disqualified as non­halakhic. Our conclusions, to be sure, will differ from those drawn by Orthodox halakhists. For us, there are many more"hard questions" than there are for them, much more indeterminacy, many more choices to make. And Orthodox posqim will make different choices than do we, given that their notion of a fit or proper response to a hard question will often diverge radically from ours. None of this, however, should obscure from our view that the fact of choice, of discretion, is a necessary and inevitable element of Jewish normative thinking.” As we have seen, the posgim utilize a variety of methods to justify their choices. Of particular interest to us might be the argument of the"pragmatists" who argue that the correct answer may well be the one which affords the best consequences, the one which stands as the most effective means to secure an agreed-upon end, even when it deviates from the commonly-held legal rule. One would be hard put to find a better description of the central tendency of liberal halakhah. Differences

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