“Rabbi, does Judaism allow…?” I’m asked a version of this question almost every day, often the questioner is asking to justify a decision to do the action in question. And often the answer is “no.”  Before we go further, I welcome all questions – please keep asking!

 

First of all, when I answer these questions, I am not answering judgmentally;  I am answering to the best of my knowledge. I don’t mind if another rabbi   answers differently. The real issue here is that “Judaism” is not just one single mind set. We do not have a rabbinic hierarchy, with rabbis answering to a  single authority. Traditionally, each rabbi is responsible for her or his community’s way of practicing and understanding Judaism. Judaism was established with the intention of reflecting the reality of the time, necessitating growth and adjustments as we have grown and spread throughout the world.

 

The reality is that while “Judaism” may not allow a certain action, Jews still decide to do that action. While some segments of Judaism may choose to chastise the individuals, Jewish law was established as a guide for how to live. Halakhah, the term for Jewish law, comes from the root   yalakh. “Lalekhet,” the verb for walking, comes from the same root. It was not intended to be a rigid set of laws, even though many Jews treat it as such. The laws that were recorded in our  rabbinic literature were established in the early centuries of the Common Era.

 

No matter which movement you associate with, Judaism agrees on the need to adhere to the moral and ethical laws. These are the principles that keep communities together, recognizing the need to treat each other with dignity, recognizing the spark of God in each of us.