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| Volume 11 Number 6 | Wed Jul 11 23:55:05 US/Pacific 2001 |
From: Robert Kaiser <rkaiser1@msn.com> Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 23:16:29 -0400 Subject: New Conservative Jewish Teshuvot (responsa) In 1997 Rabbi David Golinkin wrote "As has been pointed out on numerous occasions, the Conservative rabbis of North America have written hundreds of teshuvot but have not succeeded in publishing them. In recent years we have begun to rememdy this situation by publishing indices, monographs and complete volumes of Conservative responsa." Since that time the Conservative movement and the Masorti movement (in Israel) have finally begun to address this issue in a serious way. Many volumes of Conservative and Masorti teshuvot and halakhic studies are now available (about 15), and more are being edited for release in the next year. Just last week I received the new CJLS volume, and I thought that list readers may appreciate learning about these recent releases. All of the following books are in English. Some of these books are available from Amazon.Com. In addition to the teshuvot available in these works, many teshuvot by Conservative and Masorti rabbis can be found in the pages of "Conservative Judaism" and "JTS Magazine". (1) "Responsa in a Moment: Halakhic Responses to Contemporary Issues", pb, 410, David Golinkin, The Institute of Applied Halakhah at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies [Jerusalem, Israel, 2000] Available from the Masorti movement. Covers these topics: Why do Jews sway when they pray?; Returning territories for the sake of peace; Institutionalizing parents with Alzheimer's disease; Torah study vs. earning a living; Investigating charities to which we contribute; Telling the truth to terminal patients; Genetic engineering; The kashrut of veal raised on factory farms; Is it a mitzvah to make aliyah?; The Assasination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z"l; Is smoking prohibited by Jewish law? (2) "Life & Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics", HC, Ed. Aaron L. Mackler, JTS, 2000 This publication contains 32 chapters, offering law committee teshuvot written between 1975 and 2000. Topics include artificial insemination; in-vitro fertilization; surrogate motherhood; abortion; medical care at the end of life and care for the terminally ill; assisted suicide and euthanasia; organ transplants; autopsy; responsibilities for the provision of health care; genetic engineering and smoking. (3) "Proceedings of the Committe on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement 1986 - 1990" The Rabbinical Assembly, 2001. Available from the United Synagogue Book Service. Contains 47 teshuvot and responses, covering the following subjects: Surrogate motherhood; Smoking; six papers relating to the treatment of terminally ill patients; On the conversion of adopted and patrilineal children; three papers on "may a conversion obtained through deceit be annuled?"; The use of all wines; 2 papers on the kashering of glass cookware; Creating co-ops for kosher meat; the Rabbinical Assembly ketubah text in Hebrew and English; On the status of missing persons; two papers on mourning in the case of the death of a newborn, and in the case of a loss of a fetus due to miscarriage; Cremation in the Jewish tradition; the kashrut of peanuts for Pesach; Does milk need a kosher l'pesah label?; The status of Ethiopian Jews (Falashas); 2 papers on the use of a remote audio/video monitor on Shabbat and Yom Tov; May a Shabbat service be audio-taped or video-taped?; Shabbat and Brit Milah; Rabbinic supervision of Jewish owned businesses operating on Shabbat; Should bakeries which are open on Shabbat be supervised?; 3 papers on triennieal system for reading the Torah; 2 papers on the status of daughters of Kohanim and Leviyim for aliyot; Kohen or Rishon?; 2 papers on may a synagogue issue interest bearing bonds?; Stricture against issuing congratulation for mixed marriagess; prohibition of allowing an intermarriage reception to be held in Conservative synagogues; Blowing the Shofar after Ma'ariv following Yom Kippur; May an avowed atheist serve as a Sheliah tzibur?; Synagogue policy concerning bringing foods prepared at home into the synagogue; The inckusion of the names of the Matriarchs in the Amida; Joint Conservative-Reform religious schools; On the use of synagogues by Christian groups on a temporary basis; Yom HaShoah commerations and creating new brachot. 584 pages. Conservative rabbis are currently editing more volumes of teshuvot to be released within the next two years, including: (a) "Proceedings of the Committe on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement 1991 - 2000". The secretary of the CJLS is currently editing a large number of CJLS responsa to be published in a 2 or 3 volume set sometime within the next year. (b) Responsa of the Va'ad Halakhah of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel: Volume 7 (c) "Responsa and Halakhic Studies" Rabbi Isaac Klein. The first edition (Ktav, 1975) is no longer in print, but a second augmented edition is being prepared by Rabbi Golinkin, and should be published within a year or so. (d) The Masorti movement is preparing a number of volumes of responsa anthologies, on various topics, in Hebrew and Russian. Contact the Masorti movement for a listing of what they currently have available. (e) A variety of responsa and halakhic studies by Conservative rabbis are periodically published in "Conservative Judaism" and in "JTS Magazine". To subscribe to these publications, or read some articles for free online, go to the following websites: http://www.rabassembly.org/ http;//www.jtsa.edu/ Other volumes of Conservative responsa are available. Feel free to write to me for a complete list. United Synagogue Book Service (212) 533-7800, ext. 2003 Rapaport House, 155 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 http://www.uscj.org/ The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (212) 678-8842 JTS Publications, 3080 Broadway, New York, NY 10027 http://www.jtsa.edu/ The Masorti Movement http://www.masorti.org/ schechter@schechter.org.il Shalom, Robert Kaiser
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