tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post9103947154220283316..comments2023-09-11T17:58:13.764-04:00Comments on The Rebbetzin's Husband: North American Modern Orthodoxy and the Chief Rabbinate, RevisitedThe Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-21307388705895712492011-07-12T00:32:40.002-04:002011-07-12T00:32:40.002-04:00I would argue that non-centralized authority was t...I would argue that non-centralized authority was the norm in Diasporic Judaism. The Rambam himself wrote in his introduction to Mishnah Torah that each community beis din was independent and could not be dictated to by another beis din. For this reason, I'm not convinced by Shmuel's argument, as much of the "mess" that is being created in the US is the result of the Chief Rabbinate's deciding that for them, it is a mess; there's no need for a centralized authority in order for a local rav's conversion to be effective. While being from Israel certainly provides a certain status/mystique to the chief rabbinate, location alone would not allow it to overrule local authority.<br /> I think the chief rabbinate would be more respected in the US if it included rabbinic representatives from Diaspora communities, so that local concerns were taken into account. This would also solidify the relationship between Israeli and US Orthodoxy, and bring the Chief Rabbinate closer to the fulfillment of the centralized, Sanhedrin-like role that some of the early religious Zionist thinkers envisioned. If the Torah terms the Sanhedrin "edah," that means that the rabbis need to be in touch with the situation of the people they represent.Josephnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-74643503017597189252011-07-11T19:59:00.018-04:002011-07-11T19:59:00.018-04:00Another one of the Gadlus of Rav Shlomo Zalman Aeu...Another one of the Gadlus of Rav Shlomo Zalman Aeurbach zt"l.<br />He answered for Eretz Yisroel.<br />He referred chutz la'aretz questions and bowed to Rav Moshe's decisions.daat ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-50610967451235866352011-07-10T23:52:00.065-04:002011-07-10T23:52:00.065-04:00"others would say you have to be close to the..."others would say you have to be close to the facts on the ground."<br /><br />i once asked the rosh yeshivah where i had learned a question. he wouldn't answer it because he said he wasn't up to date with the situation in america (he himself was an american oleh). he told me to ask someone localAbba's Rantingshttp://abbasrantings.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-46542894337093215212011-07-10T12:14:48.435-04:002011-07-10T12:14:48.435-04:00When Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger visited Cleveland a...When Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger visited Cleveland a few years ago for a NCYI Shabbaton, someone asked him what his daily schedule was like.<br />In a very candid answer he replied that it was comprised primarily of sorting out the messes that came into the country as a result of the CHuL community's lack of a central Rabbinate that everyone uses (he was speaking specifically about the States, obviously). Because there is no central office recognized by everyone, every Rabbi of the community does as he sees fit concerning halachic processes that should by all accounts be standardized.<br />But he wasn't complaining that we don't use the Israeli Rabbinate standards, but rather that we have none of our own, which adversely affects those who need to use the Israeli rabbinate later on...Shmuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08623549507370220071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-25814492324769210582011-07-10T12:00:22.857-04:002011-07-10T12:00:22.857-04:00others would say you have to be close to the facts...others would say you have to be close to the facts on the ground.<br /><br />I would say halevai - but imho authority, like respect, is not demanded but earned.<br />KT<br />Joel RichAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-19540999531513687872011-07-10T08:56:43.917-04:002011-07-10T08:56:43.917-04:00In the UK, there's a simpler answer: we alread...In the UK, there's a simpler answer: we already have our own Chief Rabbinate (although in practice, the Chief Rabbi rarely answers questions, leaving them to the London Beth Din). Of course, our Chief Rabbinate is becoming less popular too.Daniel Saundershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087956908558706584noreply@blogger.com