Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Judaism A
legal scholar whodecides theHalacha in cases where previousauthorities areinconclusive or nohalakhic precedent exists.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
-
Instead, they rely on poskim (plural of posek, which is an authority certified to issue rulings).
-
During this period, he also served as the chief posek (legal decisor) of Modern Orthodoxy in America and one of its chief architects in shaping communal policy.
-
But obviously B&H took the view of a stricter posek.
-
For more complicated issues such as the status of particular blood stains on pads or underclothing, these counselors are trained to refer the women to a posek.
-
It is the job of the posek to persuade the halakhic community of his position.
-
Thus in Jewry the leadership of a rabbi finds expression in that he is both a posek (decisor) in matters of Jewish law (halakhah) and a spiritual-educational mentor.
-
Some are straightforward rulebooks with all the required information for correct halakhic practice and highlight only problematic situations where a posek should be consulted.
-
R. Moses Feinstein, the major American posek, relying on R. Isaac Elhanan Spektor, said that in any situation in which a bet din would rule to compel (kofin) the husband to divorce, the concept of “It is better to sit with [any] partner …” is suspended.
-
The posek may take into account psychological factors.
-
This foundation in evolving Torah would provide a more complex basis for people to make decisions than simply “anybody can do what they want”, just as it would be a gross oversimplification of Orthodox halakha to say “the local posek can do what he wants”, or of Conservative halakha to say “the CJLS can do what it wants”.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.