Philosopher and Poseq- 105 ­

made hesitantly. He would, for example, not eliminate the traditional statement"who has not made me a woman" from the liturgy, but advises a woman who finds it offensive not to read it.(63) In his answer to the question"May a Physician Perform a Circumcision?" Novak is guided ultimately entirely by the pragmatics of the situation. While in"Funerals in the Synagogue", he provides guidance without a directive.

David Novak ’s second volume with the same title also deals with the problem of halakhah and history; the latter must serve the former for the enterprise to remain Jewish . In his work Novak has dealt with the internal historic growth of halakhah as well as the historic external influences upon it. In his view"history(or theology) can

condition a halakhic judgement... To use history as a ground for halakhah is to eliminate revelation as the trans-historical ground of the law.

Without the grounding of revelation, halakhah loses its ultimate meaning. And to use theology as the immediate ground of a halakhic judgement is to deny halakhah ’s own immediate authority."(64) The responsa in the volume illustrate the same cautious approach whether dealing with women’s rights, kashrut, or the priestly blessing. Novak criticizes the many Jews for whom"liberalism has replaced the Torah and Jewish tradition, and even reason, as the source of moral authority".

In his Halakhah in a Theological Dimension (1985), David Novak again deals with a variety of practical issues as for example"Women in the Rabbinate" and uses it to discuss a whole range of additional equalitarian issues which are bound to be raised. The basis of his thought is presented in the openning essay"Authoritative and