Talk:Posek

Semicha

RK: Your changes are mostly good, but I would keep some mention of "semicha" (along with an explanation of what it actually is). And also the test criteria put there by Ezra, although I guess the criteria should be attributed to the group they issue from, with maybe criteria of those other groups that have criteria added.

Also, from the perspective of a non-Jewish non-Hebrew-speaker, I find entries on things such as poskim interesting, so long as the meanings of all those words is explained, and the word denotes a concept specific to Judaism, as opposed to just the Hebrew word for such and such. --- Mon.

Rabbis

RK, it seems there's a fair bit of overlap between this article and Rabbi. Don't you think a reference will do just fine? JFW | T@lk 02:38, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

JFW: I think your question has merit, but there is a not-so-subtle difference between "rabbi" and "poseq". The rabbi teaches, the poseq decides. The difference is similar to that between a supreme-court judge and a local legal-counsel (lawyer). For this reason alone, the two terms deserve separate treatment, IMHO. Tomer ^TALK 09:09, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC)

Legal systems

I removed the link to legal systems because, having followed my own link, it became clear that the role of case law and precedent differs by system - particularly civil law based systems as compared to common law based systems (see also stare decisis). I think it would be interesting if a lawyer or a student of jurisprudence would write about this here and / or in the Halakha article. Perhaps the legal systems article should also be linked to the Halakha article. Fintor talk December 5 13:44 UTC

Reconstructionist and Reform, and Jewish Law

I made 2 changes, I hope they are uncontroversial. Firstly, reform & reconstructionist do largely believe that e.g. the ten commandments have binding and normative character, so I felt it wasn't quite correct to say they don't accept Jewish law (implying any Jewish law) as binding.. only those on the extreme progressive wing, or in the very early days (19th century) of the Reform movement, might take that attitude. Second, it's true that Reform/Reconstructionist rabbinic training doesn't emphasise as much study of poskim and dinim, but I didn't agree with the reason given. After all, these movements believe that each individual must live by rules, which they derive, by whatever process, from the words of the Torah and the Oral Law, and this in my view constitutes a normative approach to law which Reform rabbis study profoundly (including study of traditional Jewish din). Feedback welcome. Zargulon 01:51, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Some minor changes

I wrote "Rabbi" in front of R' Yosef' and R' Eliashiv's names, and added that decisions by the Conservative board of rabbis are somewhat respected in the Reform and Reconstructionist community but do not carry any signicance for Orthodox Jews, who do not recognize their authority. --Daniel575 19:56, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Removed "do not carry any signicance for Orthodox Jews, who do not recognize their authority" because this is implied... Fintor 06:50, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Agree with removal and reason Zargulon 07:26, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Merge with Halakha

I do not think that the articles should be merged, similar to the way Ecclesiastical court and canon are now separate. Avi 20:20, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

If no one disagrees, I will remove the merge tags. Avi 15:28, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

• Hi: Please follow Wikipedia protocols: Latest comments are placed at the bottom of the talk page, so there is at least some sort of order and chronological continuity (a "descending order"). This can be automatically and easily done if you click on the "+" sign at the top of each talk page, if and when you want to add new comments. Thank you. IZAK 16:36, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Posek HaDor

Regarding Askenazic Jewery in the US, wouldn't HaRav Dovid Feinstein be considered the Posek? Avi 20:20, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

LOL. Amongst the Haredim (which make up the overwhelming majority of the people who care what a Posek has to say), Rabbi Dovid Feinstein is considered more of a person to actively avoid than follow. Basically, any question of merit is almost always kicked straight over to Eretz Yisrael. PhatJew 09:16, 27 April 2006 (UTC)