immediately following the Talmud , sought the original meaning of the text and then the right path through the maze of later discussions. This was never easy as the scholars of the Talmud present a variety of opinions, often totally contradictory on virtually any matter. In scholarly debates, this made no difference, but for practical halakhic decisions it was impossible. The Talmud and the later gaonim were aware of the problem and established some rules for decision making; the fullest discussion is found in Avodah Zarah 7a. Later codes expanded these efforts. Joseph Caro used Alfasi,'* Maimonides , and
Asher ben Yehiel as his authorities for decisions and adopted the decision of two of those three, unless later scholars followed the opinion of the third. This was arbitrary, but practical.
The third path has been taken consciously in modern times, but not exclusively so. In the last two centuries scholars have become more aware of the outside sociological, philosophical, and political
factors which have formed halakhic views and decisions. Scholars have looked for these factors in previous ages, so modern halakhic studies present a historical view.
In Orthodox circles the codification process has come to a halt since Joseph Caro in the 16th century. The Reform and Conservative movements have produced partial codifications of the ritual aspects of Judaism , but have not gone further.
For my writing I have followed the third and fifth path and have always been aware of the many internal and external influences which have shaped halakhic decisions. 1 am less interested in harmonization and more in the moral and ethical considerations which must lie beneath each decision. Several special consideration have also played a role:(1) As we understand that our decisions are the product of our age and its influences, then we may also see similar conditions in the past and accept decisions made long ago, but rejected by subsequent generations for reasons shaped by their times.
This means that the automatic reliance on one or another talmudic decissor— without thinking about the ethical basis as well as