Rabbinic authority
Rabbinic authority in
The origins of rabbinic authority in Judaism is understood as originally linked to the High Court of ancient Israel and Judah, known as the Sanhedrin. Scholars understand that the extent of rabbinic authority, historically, would have related to areas of Jewish civil, criminal, and ritual law, while rabbinic positions that relate to non-legal matters, such as Jewish philosophy would have been viewed as non-binding.[1]
Rabbinic authority also distinguished the practice of Judaism by the Pharisees (i.e., Rabbinic Judaism) to the religious practice of the Sadducees and the Qumran sect.[2][3] This concept is linked with the acceptance of rabbinic law, which separates Judaism from other offshoot religions such as Samaritanism and Karaite Judaism.
In contemporary Orthodox Judaism, rabbinic authority is sometimes referred to as da'as Torah (or da'at Torah) (Hebrew: דעת תורה, literally "opinion of Torah"), and the notion of rabbinic authority in this context is often extended beyond the confines of Jewish law, but to a variety of personal, social and political matters.[4]
Origins
Biblical injuction
One of the commandments in Hebrew Bible relate the establishment of a High Court, known as the
According to the law which they will teach you and according to the judgment which they will tell you, you shall do; you should not turn aside (lo tasur) from the things that they will declare to you neither to the right nor to the left.
— Deuteronomy 17:11
According to Jewish scholars, only when the majority of the Sanhedrin (or another centralized court) that represents the entire Jewish people formally votes does the Biblical injunction of lo tasur apply. Additionally, this precept only applies to the early rabbinic positions from the era of the Mishna and Talmud, but not to the rabbis of later generations. Community leaders similarly share some of the rights of the Sanhedrin, but this applies only where the majority of the community accepts their authority. Individuals who are not community members are not required to follow the decisions of community leaders.
The authority founded in rabbinic law is framed in context of the biblical commandments (
Treatment in Talmud
Diverging historical views on the actual extent of rabbinic authority in the Talmudic period and are described in terms of maximalism and minimalism. Maximalists view rabbinic authority as extending over Jewish religious and civic life as it existed under Roman rule. Minimalists view rabbinic authority under Roman rule as greatly limited with the rabbis unable to enforce their rulings. Additionally, some scholars suggest that Talmudic rabbis produced many texts concerning the destroyed Jewish Temple which in turn bolstered rabbinic authority in the post-Temple period.[8]: 3–8
In Jewish sources, the topic of rabbinic authority appears frequently. Beyond the general topic of the authority of the Sanhedrin, other discussions also arise. Rabbinic authority is treated in the Babylonian Talmud as occurring, at times, in opposition to divine authority. This conflict appears in a well-known text in the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Metzia 59b) regarding the sage
Basis for authority
The practical basis for rabbinic authority involves the acceptance of the rabbinic individual and their scholarly credentials. In practical terms, Jewish communities and individuals commonly proffer allegiance to the authority of the rabbi they have chosen. Such a rabbinic leader is sometimes called the "Master of the Locale" (mara d'atra).[12] Jewish individuals may acknowledge the authority of other rabbis but will defer legal decisions to the mara d'atra.[13] Rabbinic authority may be derived from scholarly achievements within a meritocratic system. Rabbinic authority may be viewed as based on credentials in the form of the institutionally approved ordination (semikhah). This approval and authority allows rabbis to engage in the legal process of Jewish ritual (halakha) and to prescribe legal rulings.[14]
Challenges in the medieval era
In the
Orthodox Judaism and da'as Torah
In some communities within
While the notion of da'as Torah is viewed by Haredi rabbis as a long-established tradition within the Judaism, modern Orthodox scholars argue that the Haredi claim is a revisionist one. According to modern Orthodox scholars, although the term "da'as Torah" has been used in the past, the connotations of absolute rabbinic authority under this banner occurs only in the decades that follow the establishment of the Agudas Yisrael party in Eastern Europe.
Applications
- Israeli politics — The concept of rabbinic authority as presented in the modern State of Israel contains a political dimension. Rabbinic authority as expressed in Israeli politics varies by religious party and faction. The expression of the da'as Torah concept is most strongly found in the use of a rabbinic council that guides the Haredi political parties in Israel. The influence of rabbinic authority is somewhat lessened in the moderate faction of the Religious Zionist parties.[22] Some researchers view secular media in Israel as posing a unique challenge to Orthodox rabbinic authority over their communities and political parties. To mitigate this challenge, Orthodox communities have formed media outlets run exclusively for Orthodox populations.[23]
- Impact on health — Mental health professionals who treat ultra-Orthodox patients have encountered the challenge of individuals who typically resort to rabbinical authority to advise on a range of personal matters. These mental health workers advocate for a joint effort in treating such patients as the mental health worker cannot advise regarding religious matters but neither can rabbinic authorities dispense health advice on complex issues. One common example of mental health where this dilemma is expressed is with regards to obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). It was also estimated that a significant proportion of ultra-Orthodox patients seeking treatment had first sought spiritual responses from rabbis, making their first treatment choice to be an appeal to rabbinic authority and wisdom. In the case of OCD, the discussion of the disorder appears in modern rabbinical responsa (she'elot u-teshuvot).[24]
- Internet-based rabbinic authority — With the advent of the internet, rabbis have been sought out for rabbinic advice. However, the online setting of seeking internet-based authority poses the risk where the typical respect conferred upon rabbis is diminished. The increased tendency for petitioners to respond to rabbinic decisions on internet-based communication platforms may inadvertently lead to disrespecting rabbinic authority.[25]
Conservative Judaism
In Conservative Judaism, the injunction of lo tasur is generally understood as solely referring to the authority of the Sanhedrin Court in Jerusalem and therefore does not apply to later rabbinic authorities for either their rulings or customs.[26] However, Conservative rabbis also understand that the injunction of lo tasur may follow two alternative applications in relation to the question of majority opinions in Jewish law. The first stance rests on the metaphysical belief that there is divinely bestowed authority on the majority decisions produced by the rabbinical court. The second stance relies on a theological stance regarding the form of transmission of Torah in the post-prophetic age and which allows for a lesser degree of authority to be associated with the rabbinical majority. For both of these views, there are implications that concern the rights of rabbinical minorities and of Jewish individuals who are not of the same view as the majority of the rabbinical court. And while each view can be maintained within Conservative Judaism and associated with the emphasis on the use of rabbinic majorities, it is argued that the second view is mostly aligned with the tradition of the Conservative movement that allows for greater powers for the rabbinic minority.[27]
Gendered authority
Since the 1980s, Conservative Judaism has ordained
Hasidic Judaism
In
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Turkel, E. (1993). The nature and limitations of rabbinic authority. Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 27(4), 80-99.
- ^ Hidary, R. (2015). One May Come to Repair Musical Instruments’: Rabbinic Authority and the History of the Shevut Laws. Jewish Studies, an Internet Journal, 13, 1-26.
- ^ Hidary, R. (2014). Rhetoric of Rabbinic Authority.". Jewish Rhetorics: History, Theory, Practice, 16.
- ^ a b c Kaplan, Lawrence (1992). "Daas Torah: A modern conception of rabbinic authority". In Sokol, Moshe (ed.). Rabbinic Authority and Personal Autonomy (PDF). Northvale: Jason Aronson. pp. 1–60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-24.
- ^ a b c Sacks, Y. (1993). The mizvah of "lo tasur:" Limits and Applications. Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 27(4), 49-60. Retrieved August 27, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23260885.
- ^ Viswanath, P. V., & Szenberg, M. (2007). "Examining the Biblical Perspective on the Environment in a Costly Contracting Framework". Jewish Society and Culture: An Economic Perspective, 29.
- ^ Hidary, R. (2015). One may come to repair musical instruments: Rabbinic authority and the history of the shevut laws. Jewish Studies, an Internet Journal, 13, 1-26.
- ^ Schumer, N. S. (2017). The Memory of the Temple in Palestinian Rabbinic Literature. PhD dissertation, Columbia University.
- ^ Hayes, C. (2006). Rabbinic contestations of authority. Cardozo L. Rev., 28, 123.
- ^ Friedman, S. (1993). Emunat Hakhamim: Faith in the Sages. Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 27(4), 10-34.
- ^ Rabinovich, N. E. (2007). What is "Emunat Ḥakhamim"? Ḥakirah, 5, 35-45.
- JSTOR 23260883.
- ^ a b Friedman, M. (2004). Halachic rabbinic authority in the modern open society. Jewish Religious Leadership, Image, and Reality, 2, 757-770.
- ^ Corrigan, J., Denny, F., Jaffee, M. S., and Eire C. (2012). Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions. New York, NY: Routledge. Pages 124-128.
- ^ Thrope, S. (2011). Daniel Frank, Matt Goldish, eds. Rabbinic Culture and Its Critics: Jewish Authority, Dissent, and Heresy in Medieval and Early Modern Times. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2007. xv, 480 pp. AJS Review, 35(1), 166-170.
- ^ Lawrence, Kaplan (1997). "Daat Torah: A modern view of rabbinic authority". In Safrai, Zev; Sagi, Avi (eds.). Between Authority and Autonomy in Jewish Tradition (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad. pp. 105–145.
- ^ Zohar, T. (2004). The status of women in Jewish law: Responsa. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, 7(1), 240-246.
- ^ a b Eleff, Z., & Farber, S. (2020). Antimodernism and Orthodox Judaism's Heretical Imperative: An American Religious Counterpoint. Religion and American Culture, 30(2), 237-272.
- ^ Katz, Jacob (30 November 1994). "Da'at Torah: The unqualified authority claimed for Halachists". The Harvard Law School Program in Jewish Studies (The Gruss Lectures - Jewish Law and Modernity: Five Interpretations). The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Archived from the original on 2010-03-17.
- ISBN 0-89906-319-5.
- ^ Kaplan, Lawrence (1980). "Rabbi Isaac Hutner's 'Daat Torah Perspective' on the Holocaust: A Critical Perspective". Tradition. 18 (3): 235–248. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29.
- ^ Kopelowitz, E. (2001). Religious politics and Israel's ethnic democracy. Israel Studies, 6(3), 166-190.
- ^ Cohen, Y. (2017). The media challenge to Haredi rabbinic authority in Israel. ESSACHESS-Journal for Communication Studies, 10(02), 113-128.
- ^ Greenberg, D., & Shefler, M. G. (2014). Ultra-orthodox rabbinic responses to religious obsessive-compulsive disorder. In Hoffman, S. (ed.) Reader for the Orthodox Jewish Psychotherapist: Issues, Case Studies, and Contemporary Responsa, pp. 52-72.
- ^ Raucher, M. (2015). Yoatzot Halacha: Ruling the Internet, one question at a time. In Digital Judaism (pp. 65-81). Routledge.
- ^ Levin, Amy; Reisner, Avram Israel (December 2015). "A Teshuvah Permitting Ashkenazim to Eat Kitniyot on Pesah" (PDF). Rabbinical Assembly.
- ^ Tucker, Gordon (1993). "A principled defense of the current structure and status of the CJLS" (PDF). Rabbinical Assembly.
- ^ Grossman, S. (2013). Rabbinic Authority from a Gendered Perspective. Conservative Judaism, 65(1), 3-19.
- ^ a b Wertheim, Aaron (1992). Law and Custom in Hasidism. KTAV Publishing House.
- ^ Kauffman, T. (2020). Doctrine of the distant Tzaddik: Mysticism, ethics, and politics. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 38(3), 182-216.
- ^ Rubin, E. (2020). Questions of love and truth: New perspectives on the controversy between R. Avraham of Kalisk and R. Shneur Zalman of Liady. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 38(3), 242-286.
External links
- A. Y. Warburg, Rabbinic Authority: The Vision and the Reality, Urim Publications. Jerusalem, 2013. (full text available online).