Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
"The Great One of the Generation" for Modern Orthodoxy.
By Rabbi Louis Jacobs
Reprinted from The Jewish Religion: A
Companion, published by Oxford University Press.
Moshe Feinstein was a rabbi, teacher, and a foremost modern authority
in Jewish law (1895-1986). Feinstein was born in Russia and received his
Talmudic education in the yeshivot of Lithuania. He was Rabbi of the town of
Luban in Russia from 1921 until 1937, at which date he immigrated to the USA
where he served as the head of the Yeshivah Tiferet Yerushalayim in New York.
Feinstein followed the methods of keen analysis of legal
concepts as taught in the yeshivot of Lithuania, with the emphasis on legal
theory rather than on its application in practice. He published commentaries in
this vein on a number of Talmudic tractates. But Feinstein's fame rests chiefly
on his collections of responsa under the name Iggerot Moshe, "Letters
of Moses." His decisions in these responsa are widely held to be
authoritative for the whole world of Orthodoxy.
Feinstein's general stance is one of strictness in
connection with non-Orthodox tendencies in Judaism, even declaring that it is
not permitted to answer "amen" to a benediction uttered by a Reform
Rabbi. But within Orthodoxy he is very lenient, coming close, for instance, to
permitting artificial insemination by a donor, to the consternation of his
Orthodox colleagues.
Although the law only permits milk from Gentile farms if a
Jew has been present at the milking (lest non-kosher milk be substituted), Feinstein
argued that since there are strict rules against the adulteration of milk in
the USA and most countries today, it is always a case of a Jew being present. He
ruled that an aged, pious man could stay with his irreligious daughter and need
have no fear that she will give him non-kosher food to eat. He saw no reason
why a blind man should not be allowed to bring his guide-dog into the synagogue
during prayers.
Feinstein also discusses theological questions in his responsa;
for instance, whether to take out life insurance betokens lack of trust in God.
Feinstein declares that, like any other business transaction, insurance is not
only allowed but advocated on the principle that human endeavor is required
before God's help is forthcoming. Trust in God here means reliance on God to
help a man who has taken out insurance to do well enough to be able to pay the
premiums.
In another responsum he discusses whether a Gentile is
obliged to pray to God, according to the Torah, since this is not one of the
Noahide laws. The reply is that a Gentile has no obligation to offer prayer to God
but it is counted to him as meritorious if he does.
Feinstein was often referred to as "the Great One of
the generation," in other words, the world authority in Jewish law. In
1974, a Rabbi Schwartz published the work Reply to the Letters, in which
he sought to demonstrate that Feinstein made many errors of judgment in his
works and does not deserve the high title. Schwartz's critique was generally
seen as unfounded and had no effect on Feinstein's reputation.
Louis Jacobs, a British rabbi and theologian, served as
rabbi of the New London Synagogue.
Rabbi Jacobs lectures at University College in London and at Lancaster
University. He has written numerous books, including Jewish Values, Beyond
Reasonable Doubt, and Hasidic Prayer.
© Louis Jacobs, 1995. Published by Oxford University
Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be stored,
transmitted, retransmitted, lent, or reproduced in any form or medium without
the permission of Oxford University Press.
