RE204 Lecture Notes - Rabbinic Judaism, Halakha, Mishnah
Document Summary
Halakhah and modernity: halakhah: entirety of religious law for jews, biblical law, mishnah, Talmud and authoritative rulings, as well as customs terms of the covenant focuses on decision of status of things/people, responsibility to things/people. Means for rabbinic judaism to deal with things. Halakhah - both a verb and a noun. Process by which authorities make decisions based on previous authorities. Someone with appropriate authority can go through process of making halachic decision. Consult relevant text (previous authority for precedence) Evaluate specifics of that case, rooted in examination. Does not always give consistent answers, very individualized. Physical bodily behaviours matter, practical (day to day) matters. Emphasis placed on place, rather than action in post-modernic religion. Jews will have full secular rights, challenges rabbinic authority less emphasis on religious courts, some places lost them. Posed certain challenges in divinity of literature.