Non­fic­tion

Liv­ing the Halachic Process: Ques­tions and Answers for the Mod­ern Jew

Daniel Mann, ed.
  • Review
By – December 9, 2011
Dur­ing the past two decades, dis­cus­sions of halacha have pop­u­lat­ed the Inter­net. Numer­ous Ask a Rab­bi” columns have been found­ed on the Inter­net, or have moved there from print media. The Eretz Hem­dah Insti­tute, a Kol­lel and insti­tu­tion built to sup­port Ortho­dox Zion­ism, has such a ser­vice for both rab­bis and lay peo­ple from through­out the world. This book brings togeth­er many of the ques­tions and answers that have been processed through the Insti­tute and its web­site. The ques­tions and answers cov­er many aspects of Jew­ish life, includ­ing rit­u­al obser­vance, issues that con­front the Ortho­dox Jew specif­i­cal­ly in Israel, tzeda­ka, fam­i­ly life, and busi­ness ethics. The answers giv­en are short and tothe- point, but include foot­notes for those wish­ing to study the issues fur­ther (a CD which includes the pri­ma­ry sources on which deci­sions are based is forth­com­ing). The schol­ars whose respons­es are giv­en demon­strate sen­si­tiv­i­ty to con­tem­po­rary soci­ety and a desire to be under­stand­ing of the needs of mod­ern, halachi­cal­ly-com­mit­ted Jews. This book is a valu­able resource and could also be used as a resource by teach­ers of halacha and rab­binics. Glos­sary, index, notes.
Rab­bi Arnold D. Sam­lan is a Jew­ish edu­ca­tor and rab­bi liv­ing in Mia­mi, Flori­da. He serves as exec­u­tive direc­tor of the Orloff Cen­tral Agency for Jew­ish Edu­ca­tion of Broward County.

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