Halakha in Context: Responsa Literature, Modern Questions, and Legal Reasoning Across Communities

Halakha is a living legal tradition, not a closed archive. Every generation of poskim (halachic decisors) has confronted questions their predecessors never faced, from electricity and organ transplants to questions of status raised by conversion, divorce technology, and genetic medicine. Understanding how that process works — and why different communities reach different conclusions — requires engagement with the responsa literature and the sociology of halachic authority. This course provides that engagement at a substantive level. By the end of this course you will be able to read and analyze a responsum in translation, identify the key methodological moves in halachic argumentation, compare Ashkenazic and Sephardic halachic cultures on selected practical topics, and articulate the methodological positions that distinguish Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform approaches to halachic decision-making. What you will learn: - The structure of a classic responsum: question, sources, analysis, ruling - Key modern poskim: Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Ovadia Yosef, and their methodological differences - How electricity, microwave technology, and digital devices have been addressed in halachic literature - Medical ethics in Halakha: end-of-life care, organ donation, and fertility treatment - The Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards and its legal methodology - Reform and Reconstructionist approaches: autonomy, tradition, and the status of mitzvot - Gender and Halakha: historical debates and contemporary responsa on women's roles and obligations - How legal pluralism operates within Orthodoxy: the significance of minhag (custom) and communal practice The course is built around eight case studies, each exploring a contested halachic question through primary responsa texts in translation, contextual readings, and comparative analysis. For each case, you will read at least two positions — often from different communal traditions — and follow guided analysis questions designed to surface the methodological differences at stake. Reflection prompts invite you to consider what legal reasoning in a religious tradition reveals about values, authority, and change. Self-assessment exercises test your ability to identify the sources and logic being invoked in unfamiliar responsa. This course is designed for advanced learners with some prior background in Jewish law or Jewish studies, as well as for lawyers, ethicists, and religious scholars curious about comparative legal reasoning. It is suitable for those in rabbinical study, graduate Jewish studies programs, or serious independent learning. This course is educational and does not constitute a halachic ruling; personal halachic questions should be addressed to a qualified posek.