Contemporary American Reform Responsa

by Walter Jacob

More than 200 responsa offering practical guidance in all areas of life.

Genres: Judaism

322 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 1988

About the author

Walter Jacob was an American Reform rabbi. He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis and World Union for Progressive Judaism. Jacob wrote a book, Christianity Through Jewish Eyes in 1974, leading to interfaith dialogue. He founded the Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law. In Germany, he co-founded the Abraham Geiger College, the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, in 1999.

Reviews

[Arthur Gershman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an essential tool on the bookshelf of any Reform Rabbi.
It represents the modern answer to the Responsa method, a millenia-old Jewish tradition of answering important contemporary questions which are not specifically treated by the Torah or its interpretive texts. The methodology employed attempts to determine the principles underlying the source material and apply the principles to the issue presented. As applied to present day questions within the Reform Jewish movement, typically a congregant of a synagogue whose rabbi is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis is referred to the Responsa Committee with the question which the member rabbi himself feels unqualified or uneasy in answering. The question is then posed, perhaps in a more suitable reformulation, to the Responsa Committee by the Chairman, who then gathers the answers of the Committee members and synthesizes a draft of the Responsum which is circulated to the Committee members.
When is abortion permitted? Should smoking be banned in the synagogue building? What are the sources for matrilineal and patrilineal descent? What is the Jewish reaction to AIDS? Do we recite `kaddish for a convicted criminal? May human blood be sold for medical purposes? 202 such questions are answered in this volume.
My favorite question and response is "Does a clone have a soul?" On the way to answering the question, the rabbi gives a thumbnail sketch of the mystical Jewish thinking on the soul, certainly food for thought.
If you are a Rabbi, or just want to know how they think, this is the book for you.