Book Review: Contemporary decisor

In his collection of scholarly, yet accessible, essays on modern halachic issues, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin suggests innovative solutions but clings religiously to the traditional framework.

By SHLOMO BRODY
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at Midreshet Lindenbaum. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at Midreshet Lindenbaum.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
If books weren’t printed to sell, the latest publication of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin might have been called “How I think creatively about our religion while remaining within a traditional framework.”
Admittedly, The Living Tree: Studies in Modern Orthodoxy, along with its clever cover design by Yehudit Cohen, is a more poetic title. Yet this stimulating book provides a glimpse at how one of the most influential Modern Orthodox rabbis believes Jewish law and thought should operate and evolve.
Unlike Riskin’s well-received collection of short autobiographical tales, Listening to God, or his popular Torah Lights series on the weekly Torah portion, this book is a collection of extended scholarly essays on a range of prominent topics in contemporary discourse. While not light reading, Riskin lucidly keeps it accessible to broader audiences by highlighting the relevancy of each topic and interspersing entertaining anecdotes.
In the confines of this forum, this review will not try to assess the merits of specific claims, which will certainly inspire many yet ruffle the feathers of others. Instead, I will attempt to extract broader claims of the book which, as indicated by its subtitle, Riskin believes relate to the essence of Modern Orthodoxy.
The work contains two types of essays that may be broadly categorized as relating to hashkafa (ideology) and Halacha.
The former encompasses classic themes like authority and democracy, secular studies and bringing sanctity into the modern world, while the latter includes questions such as women holding a Torah scroll on Simhat Torah (which he favors) and trading land for peace.
Riskin seemingly does not believe in a hard bifurcation between law and ideology, understanding that the encounter with modernity will impact the way we think about God and tradition and have consequences for our legal practice. One cannot positively engage, however carefully or selectively, with the modern world and not be pushed toward reexamining traditional legal directives or categories.
This appears to be the underlying thesis of the book in which, as Riskin writes in his introduction, he will balance the weight of tradition with contemporary exigencies by taking into account guiding meta-halachic principles found throughout halachic discourse. This is particularly urgent in light of the challenges and opportunities posed by national sovereignty.
This does not mean that any solution to a given problem is acceptable to Riskin.
While he has built programs to train women as decisors of Jewish law, he criticizes those who have used the term “rabbi” or “rabba” in these clerical positions, because it gives the mis-impression that a woman can serve as a sole communal religious leader.
Similarly, he bemoans the misuse of the notion of kiddushei ta’ut, marriages made under false pretenses, to solve the “aguna crisis” of chained women who are being subjugated by recalcitrant husbands. His own solution bases itself on a talmudic mechanism known as hafka’at kiddushin, in which a rabbinical court nullifies the marriage. Riskin gathers sources to claim that this mechanism can be executed retroactively and without a get, while further arguing that there is precedent from post-Enlightenment rabbinic courts who implemented these powers. Riskin has made this proposal in several forums, and I would have enjoyed a more explicit response to some of the critiques leveled against it that have prevented its implementation.
Significantly, Riskin does not seek to be a maverick on this issue and calls for the creation of a special rabbinic court in Jerusalem with judges of impeccable credentials. Similarly, with regard to his proposal for slightly altering the morning gender identity blessings to include both positive and negative formulations for both genders (i.e. “Who has not made me a woman/man and has made me in accordance with His will”), Riskin seeks the endorsement of a major Orthodox rabbinical body to make changes to the prayer book, even as he permits individuals to make changes in their private prayers.
In contrast, with regard to novel biblical interpretations, Riskin feels at greater liberty to suggest new interpretations to the text, even as he remains keen to show precedents or similarities in earlier commentaries.
He forcefully responds to criticism launched against him in The Jewish Observer, to defend his novel interpretations that highlight the human complexities of biblical heroes.
Why the deference in the halachic realm? While he doesn’t address it directly, Riskin seemingly understands that Halacha is ultimately a national and historical endeavor with major consequences, and that acting as a maverick will cause more damage than good. As such, he passionately advocates for various proposals but waits until there is some form of consensus before acting.
Speculation aside, one hopes that Riskin will address this hesitation in a future forum, and articulate how those two examples are different from his allowances for women to dance with a Sefer Torah or serve as halachic decisors.
Particularly stimulating is Riskin’s approach to interfaith dialogue. He formulates a vision of Judaism that has a mission vis-à-vis the world and creates partnerships with Christians who share many values. He stresses the importance of political cooperation and non-missionizing theological dialogue, while allowing for each religion to stay true to their teachings and to assert that the other will convert in the eschatological era.
In these essays, one sees him as a creative biblical exegete and theologian, a doctorate recipient who studied the history of proselytization in the first centuries of the Common Era, a student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik attempting to elucidate his rebbe’s teachings and a Zionist pioneer seeking political allies around the world, in favor of Zionism and against Islamic fundamentalism.
As with all provocative books, The Living Tree will have its supporters and detractors.
Yet in looking at the range of seminal topics passionately addressed in the book – along with the thousands of lives he has influenced through his numerous institutions and tireless teaching – one can only stand back and give thanks to Riskin for his continued creativity and efforts on behalf of the Jewish people.
That should be something on which everyone can agree.
The writer is the Ask The Rabbi columnist for The Jerusalem Post and the author of A Guide to the Complex: Contemporary Halachic Debates (Maggid), winner of a 2014 National Jewish Book Award.