Halakhic Discussions

Devora Steinmetz explores how modern communication technology should impact the question of when to start shiva.

Sharon Galper Grossman and Shamai Grossman examine Halakhic sources regarding whether physicians and other healthcare workers have a greater requirement to receive the COVID-19 vaccine than the rest of the population.

The study of ta’amei ha-mitzvot—the rationales underlying commandments—is a popular source of spiritual meaning, but does it also have relevance to halakhic practice? Dovid Campbell explores an intergenerational rabbinic debate regarding the relationship of ta’amei ha-mitzvot and the requirement to perform mitzvot with a proper intention.

Francis Nataf argues that the Jewish ethics of mutual aid force us to re-examine our obligations to non-Jews within and outside of our communities.

Alan Jotkowitz disagrees with Sharon Galper Grossman’s and Shamai Grossman’s halakhic argument that wealthy nations should provide booster shots to their own populations before contributing doses to poorer countries.

Elli Fischer contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.

  Mark Glass I. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. … Growing up, that’s how the gabba’im of my youth minyan would determine if...

Jeffrey Woolf contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.

Shmuel Klitsner's insider perspectives on making a Hanukkah classic.

Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli offers a careful examination of an enigmatic discussion in the Shulhan Arukh’s laws on neighborly relations. She demonstrates how “radical presence” and attention to sensory details is an essential strategy for halakhic decision-making.