2008 Woodie Awards
Rav Yuval Cherlow visits Yeshiva
Presentation Details the Challenges of Datim haHadashim
Menachem Butler
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
As a leader in the Hesder yeshivot network and the "Datim haHadashim" movement in Israel, Rav Yuval Cherlow represents a new brand of halakhic decisor in both his method of receiving questions, as well as in the innovative nature of his responsa. On April 4, 2005, Rav Cherlow delivered a guest lecture to the "History and Ideology of Modern Orthodoxy" class, a seminar in the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College, taught by Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill. The goal of the course is to show the varieties of Modern Orthodoxy, including German Neo-Orthodoxy, European Traditionalism, American Modern Orthodoxy, Contemporary Centrist Orthodoxy, Engaged Yeshivish and also the varieties of Israeli Orthodoxy. ("History and Ideology of Modern Orthodoxy" is recorded and available online at www.YUTorah.org.)
Aside from students in Dr. Brill's class, two senior members of the university faculty, along with a few students from other classes were in attendance for the lecture by Rav Cherlow. Rav Cherlow was in New York for the annual Orthodox Forum, a two day gathering of prominent Orthodox intellectuals, convened by RIETS on April 3rd and 4th at the Park East Synagogue.
About four years ago, Rabbi Cherlow was asked to be one of the respondents in an "Ask the Rabbi" forum, hosted by www. Moreshet. co.il, and thought that he would only respond to three or four questions per week. Since then, Rav Cherlow has learned a great deal about the worldwide Jewish community in general, and about contemporary responsa in particular. "I really felt like exploring a new world," recalled R. Cherlow.
Approached with the rather original opportunity, Rav Cherlow agreed to take on the task and was happy to return to psak halakha. The third question that he received, however, set the tone for the more than 20,000 questions that he has answered since then. "It came from a haredi girl who was abused for a period of five years by her father, and was about to get married [via an arranged marriage] and noting that she won't consider going to a social worker or the police, wanted to know if she needed to tell her husband of her history."
In just four years, Moreshet's "Ask the Rabbi" forum has answered some 150,000 questions from both students and adults. Interestingly, approximately 5 percent of these questions are from haredi women, as the web forums provide an opportunity to ask questions to a rabbi not through their husbands. Also, as most ba'alei teshuva are not part of the Religious Zionist movement in Israel, less than 5 percent of the questions asked to the forum come from ba'alei teshuva. Of the questions that Rav Cherlow has answered, most are posted online at Moreshet's website, though around 3,000 of the Teshuvot are not, for a variety of reasons, among which include tsniut and other issues of modesty. R. Cherlow pointedly noted how around 2,000 out of the 20,000 that he answered were asked by people who had no other way of connecting with rabbis. Rav Cherlow spends around two-and-a-half hours a day answering Teshuvot through e-mail.
Rav Cherlow also noted how with the widespread use of the internet, and people submitting their Teshuvot from around the world, there are a series of issues that often occur, including questions now being sent by anonymous emails - rather than through the conventional means of mail or even telephone. Because the internet is readily available to anyone/anywhere, one can ask a question wherever/whenever. Rav Cherlow explained that as a responder to these Teshuvot, the rabbi can likewise answer a question whenever he wants. Finally, due to the method of contact between the respondent and the rabbi, answers must be very short, as the questions are also short. "These days, we don't have time for the long answers. People who ask questions aren't patient to read a long answer," explained Rav Cherlow.
An Israeli scholar, currently writing a doctoral dissertation on this ground-breaking approach of answering Teshuvot through the internet, asked Rav Cherlow and the other rabbis on the panel if "we were more extreme in our responses at the beginning of the project and whether we are now more open in our halakhic responses. We now are." Rav Cherlow explains that he does not understand many of the issues facing the contemporary community, but now understands more about the constituency whom he is writing for.
When asked, for example, for the sort of question frequently asked, Rav Cherlow responded: "a 15 year old boy was accepted to play on a professional Israeli soccer team and [as the only religious player on the team, this teenager] convinced all the secular players not to play on Shabbat and they agreed to play all of their games on Friday. One game, his yarmulke flew off while he was playing, and this boy wasn't sure whether to stop to pick up his kippa and thus, lose the game, or to go forward and kick and score the goal to win. Had the boy stopped to pick up his yarmulke, he would have lost the game." This is but one example of the questions being asked to the respondents in the Moreshet forum, highlighting a community of Jews who have no one else to ask their thoughtful and pioneering questions.
Rav Cherlow notes that there are often problems that can arise with these online forums where, for example, people have sent the same question to many different rabbis online, at the same time, and each rabbi had then provided different answers. Furthermore, sometimes people then compare and contrast these various answers on web forums, to the annoyance of Rav Cherlow and the other moderators.
As expected, due to the innovative nature of the methods of Internet responsa, Rav Cherlow's responses are likewise often perceived as radical. As he explains, "a rabbi is now in a different circumstance and environment than before. In previous generations, an answer from a rabbi of assur/muttar [prohibited/permitted] stuck. No longer. However, halakha has become something that is much less authorized. You can't force anyone about halakha."
Aside from reasonable differences between his responsa and those of members of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox community, Rav Cherlow uses tanakh, medrash and aggadah as viable sources, on par with Talmudic and other Jewish legal texts, to give a direction in dealing with issues facing the global Jewish community. Rav Cherlow points out that the gap placed between halakha and aggadah is growing, and that "if you search through [classic Teshuvot], they pasken halakha by using aggadah. Many of the ideas that we live according to are much more aggadah than halakha. We should deal with them and have much more influence on the halakha."
Regarding the historical nature of Teshuvot, Rav Cherlow explained how "150 years ago, people asked theological questions. Evolution, Mikra, etc., [however,] these are not the questions being asked today. Today, the moral issues facing the Jewish community are regarding women, homosexuality, Palestinians, workers rights, white slavery, and the budget. Part of it is yetzer hara, but we have to give the answers. We must connect the Torah and morality. It is a chillul hashem [descecration of God's Name] to say that the Torah is not moral... One rabbi wrote an article in [the Israeli halakhic journal] Tzohar about Napster, if it is permitted to use Napster for file sharing. Someone else said that it is not moral. The rabbi responded 'if it is not against halakha, then morals should not play a role.' Rav [Abraham Isaac HaKohen] Kook claimed that if these are the questions, then it is a sign that something should be explained and imported into the halakha and will also have an affect on the generation... A psak can't be just for the Bnei Torah or Yeshiva graduates, every psak that I write is a psak for all of Klal Yisrael. When I write a responsa, I wonder: 'Can everyone keep this halakha?' Only then do I issue a ruling."
When asked about the nicest question that he received, Rav Cherlow answered: "'Two neighbors sit together and drink coffee every day, and they advise each other on each others problems. And once they return home, they feel better. Is this considered lashon hara [harmful speech and gossip]? Which one is more stringent?' I was happy to hear that people take these halakhot so personally and care for them."
Rav Cherlow, whose surname is sometimes spelled Sherlo in the Anglo-literature, is a child of English speaking immigrants and grew up in the Israeli seacoast town of Herzylia. He lived in the Golan Heights for 12 years before moving to Petah Tikva eight years ago, where he founded a local yeshiva and currently serves as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Petah Tikva. Though a student of the former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rav Avraham Shapira (at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav) and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein (at Yeshivat Har Etzion), Rav Cherlow's current ideology differs than that of those two Roshei Yeshiva, but he is nonetheless grateful for the education received while in those two yeshivot. Rav Cherlow's internet Teshuvot are archived online at www.Moreshet.co.il, and have also been published, in two aptly titled volumes "Reshut HaRabbim" and "Reshut HaYachid." His other writings include a work on the contemporary relevance of Rav Kook and another on Rav [Joseph Baer] Soloveitchik, as well as several volumes on his approach towards Talmud study and Halakha.
Dr. Brill, who thinks that it is important for Yeshiva College students to be aware of the variety of thinkers in contemporary Israeli Orthodoxy, was pleased with the reception Rav Cherlow received, as well as the well thought-out questions that the students and other professors asked following his hour long English presentation.
Aside from students in Dr. Brill's class, two senior members of the university faculty, along with a few students from other classes were in attendance for the lecture by Rav Cherlow. Rav Cherlow was in New York for the annual Orthodox Forum, a two day gathering of prominent Orthodox intellectuals, convened by RIETS on April 3rd and 4th at the Park East Synagogue.
About four years ago, Rabbi Cherlow was asked to be one of the respondents in an "Ask the Rabbi" forum, hosted by www. Moreshet. co.il, and thought that he would only respond to three or four questions per week. Since then, Rav Cherlow has learned a great deal about the worldwide Jewish community in general, and about contemporary responsa in particular. "I really felt like exploring a new world," recalled R. Cherlow.
Approached with the rather original opportunity, Rav Cherlow agreed to take on the task and was happy to return to psak halakha. The third question that he received, however, set the tone for the more than 20,000 questions that he has answered since then. "It came from a haredi girl who was abused for a period of five years by her father, and was about to get married [via an arranged marriage] and noting that she won't consider going to a social worker or the police, wanted to know if she needed to tell her husband of her history."
In just four years, Moreshet's "Ask the Rabbi" forum has answered some 150,000 questions from both students and adults. Interestingly, approximately 5 percent of these questions are from haredi women, as the web forums provide an opportunity to ask questions to a rabbi not through their husbands. Also, as most ba'alei teshuva are not part of the Religious Zionist movement in Israel, less than 5 percent of the questions asked to the forum come from ba'alei teshuva. Of the questions that Rav Cherlow has answered, most are posted online at Moreshet's website, though around 3,000 of the Teshuvot are not, for a variety of reasons, among which include tsniut and other issues of modesty. R. Cherlow pointedly noted how around 2,000 out of the 20,000 that he answered were asked by people who had no other way of connecting with rabbis. Rav Cherlow spends around two-and-a-half hours a day answering Teshuvot through e-mail.
Rav Cherlow also noted how with the widespread use of the internet, and people submitting their Teshuvot from around the world, there are a series of issues that often occur, including questions now being sent by anonymous emails - rather than through the conventional means of mail or even telephone. Because the internet is readily available to anyone/anywhere, one can ask a question wherever/whenever. Rav Cherlow explained that as a responder to these Teshuvot, the rabbi can likewise answer a question whenever he wants. Finally, due to the method of contact between the respondent and the rabbi, answers must be very short, as the questions are also short. "These days, we don't have time for the long answers. People who ask questions aren't patient to read a long answer," explained Rav Cherlow.
An Israeli scholar, currently writing a doctoral dissertation on this ground-breaking approach of answering Teshuvot through the internet, asked Rav Cherlow and the other rabbis on the panel if "we were more extreme in our responses at the beginning of the project and whether we are now more open in our halakhic responses. We now are." Rav Cherlow explains that he does not understand many of the issues facing the contemporary community, but now understands more about the constituency whom he is writing for.
When asked, for example, for the sort of question frequently asked, Rav Cherlow responded: "a 15 year old boy was accepted to play on a professional Israeli soccer team and [as the only religious player on the team, this teenager] convinced all the secular players not to play on Shabbat and they agreed to play all of their games on Friday. One game, his yarmulke flew off while he was playing, and this boy wasn't sure whether to stop to pick up his kippa and thus, lose the game, or to go forward and kick and score the goal to win. Had the boy stopped to pick up his yarmulke, he would have lost the game." This is but one example of the questions being asked to the respondents in the Moreshet forum, highlighting a community of Jews who have no one else to ask their thoughtful and pioneering questions.
Rav Cherlow notes that there are often problems that can arise with these online forums where, for example, people have sent the same question to many different rabbis online, at the same time, and each rabbi had then provided different answers. Furthermore, sometimes people then compare and contrast these various answers on web forums, to the annoyance of Rav Cherlow and the other moderators.
As expected, due to the innovative nature of the methods of Internet responsa, Rav Cherlow's responses are likewise often perceived as radical. As he explains, "a rabbi is now in a different circumstance and environment than before. In previous generations, an answer from a rabbi of assur/muttar [prohibited/permitted] stuck. No longer. However, halakha has become something that is much less authorized. You can't force anyone about halakha."
Aside from reasonable differences between his responsa and those of members of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox community, Rav Cherlow uses tanakh, medrash and aggadah as viable sources, on par with Talmudic and other Jewish legal texts, to give a direction in dealing with issues facing the global Jewish community. Rav Cherlow points out that the gap placed between halakha and aggadah is growing, and that "if you search through [classic Teshuvot], they pasken halakha by using aggadah. Many of the ideas that we live according to are much more aggadah than halakha. We should deal with them and have much more influence on the halakha."
Regarding the historical nature of Teshuvot, Rav Cherlow explained how "150 years ago, people asked theological questions. Evolution, Mikra, etc., [however,] these are not the questions being asked today. Today, the moral issues facing the Jewish community are regarding women, homosexuality, Palestinians, workers rights, white slavery, and the budget. Part of it is yetzer hara, but we have to give the answers. We must connect the Torah and morality. It is a chillul hashem [descecration of God's Name] to say that the Torah is not moral... One rabbi wrote an article in [the Israeli halakhic journal] Tzohar about Napster, if it is permitted to use Napster for file sharing. Someone else said that it is not moral. The rabbi responded 'if it is not against halakha, then morals should not play a role.' Rav [Abraham Isaac HaKohen] Kook claimed that if these are the questions, then it is a sign that something should be explained and imported into the halakha and will also have an affect on the generation... A psak can't be just for the Bnei Torah or Yeshiva graduates, every psak that I write is a psak for all of Klal Yisrael. When I write a responsa, I wonder: 'Can everyone keep this halakha?' Only then do I issue a ruling."
When asked about the nicest question that he received, Rav Cherlow answered: "'Two neighbors sit together and drink coffee every day, and they advise each other on each others problems. And once they return home, they feel better. Is this considered lashon hara [harmful speech and gossip]? Which one is more stringent?' I was happy to hear that people take these halakhot so personally and care for them."
Rav Cherlow, whose surname is sometimes spelled Sherlo in the Anglo-literature, is a child of English speaking immigrants and grew up in the Israeli seacoast town of Herzylia. He lived in the Golan Heights for 12 years before moving to Petah Tikva eight years ago, where he founded a local yeshiva and currently serves as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Petah Tikva. Though a student of the former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rav Avraham Shapira (at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav) and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein (at Yeshivat Har Etzion), Rav Cherlow's current ideology differs than that of those two Roshei Yeshiva, but he is nonetheless grateful for the education received while in those two yeshivot. Rav Cherlow's internet Teshuvot are archived online at www.Moreshet.co.il, and have also been published, in two aptly titled volumes "Reshut HaRabbim" and "Reshut HaYachid." His other writings include a work on the contemporary relevance of Rav Kook and another on Rav [Joseph Baer] Soloveitchik, as well as several volumes on his approach towards Talmud study and Halakha.
Dr. Brill, who thinks that it is important for Yeshiva College students to be aware of the variety of thinkers in contemporary Israeli Orthodoxy, was pleased with the reception Rav Cherlow received, as well as the well thought-out questions that the students and other professors asked following his hour long English presentation.