Reform Responsa- 53 ­

We should pause for a moment to consider the implications of the above statement.| ili noteworthy that responsa-writing in America was not left up to individual authorities, as was the custom in traditional Judaism for the past millennium. Responsa in America were to be the authorized expression of a rabbinic conference. This is really a throwback to the original character of responsa as the genre emerged during Gaonic times.

These early responsa, we recall, conveyed to the questioner the considered opinion of the Talmudic academy. The American movement now replicates the process, with responsa bearing the imprimatur not of an individual authority, but of the collective body of American(Reform) rabbis. It is this shift from individual to communal authorship which may help account for the acceptance of responsa in the New World.

It must be said that the idea of responsa writing in America had a slow and tentative start. It was really not until the 1950’s that American Reform responsa became a clearly established aspect of the movement. What I want to do now is examine the roots and early history of American Reform responsa in preparation for our consideration of Reform responsa today.

As I mentioned, the CCAR had its beginning in 1889. It was not until 1907. however, that a Responsa Committee is listed as part of the Structure of the CCAR, As far as 1 can tell, its first published responsum appeared in the CCAR Yearbook in 1913. Even then, however, the committee’s work was far from accepted. In 1915, Rabbi Lauterbach complained that,"In a report of this character, the authority should be given for