Disclaimer

Shalom. Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope that you find the material presented here to be of interest and worthy of discussion.

Many of these blog posts involve halachic minutiae, and sometimes controversy. Other posts are actual answers I have given to people just like yourselves, and may or may not have been put into practice. It is my intention that in many of these articles, my colleagues and my superiors in the Torah world find ideas worthy of their consideration, in order to bring the knowledge of God’s Torah into this world. As Rabbi Shalom Klass always wrote, any reader should always personally consult with his personal or local Rabbi before acting on anything. I am always opposed to anyone shopping around for opinions to follow, and do not want this website to be used by anyone just looking for opinions that are convenient.

Further, as my friends and family can attest, in practice I subscribe to halachic authoritarianism, and believe that it is strictly forbidden for someone to act against locally accepted halacha. If that’s the way things are done, then continue to do so. My intention is only to bring other considerations into the picture, and sometimes, hopefully to persuade colleagues and superiors to perhaps entertain other policies if and when the situation calls for it.

For example, if a community officially accepts the weekly Sabbath 10 minutes before sunset, then that is when its members should do so, although maybe I would try to persuade its leaders to accept the Sabbath even earlier.

Because the bulk of this blog is dedicated to the open discussion of the halachic theories that affect us all, I invite readers to comment, and even disagree, with what I have written here. I only ask that it be done in a civil manner.