The role of halakhah is to serve as a bridge between our eternal Torah and the world's changing realities. However, the dizzying pace of developments in postmodern society and the obsession with personal freedom are generating unprecedented gaps between Torah and reality, challenging our obedience to Halakhah, contributing to the erosion of rabbinic authority and causing a growing confusion within our community. The Narrow Halakhic Bridge explores the rigid and flexible elements of the Halakhic system, utilizing close to one thousand texts from rabbis of all generations, and offering a vision for the future of Halakhah in a world of doubt and change.
Reviews
"Orthodox Judaism is facing the challenge of a world dominated by moral relativism and postmodernism. At the same time there has been an explosion of Torah knowledge. Rabbi Neuwirth has made a major contribution in bridging these phenomena. Instead of the simplistic response that the Torah and Halakhah are eternal, he has analyzed the complex process of determining halakhic truth and how rabbinic scholars are responding to changes in society. One need not agree with the details of his solution to appreciate this major contribution." --Rabbi Yosef Blau, Rosh Yeshivah and Senior Mashgiach Ruchani at Yeshiva University
"Rav Ronen in his special style tries to make it accessible for the readers to understand the tools that Poskim of our day have.... I am convinced that this book will contribute a great deal to the halakhic discourse which is so essential in our time." --Rabbi David Stav, Rabbi of Shoham and Head of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization
"Rabbi Neuwirth is to be commended for taking a courageous leap toward the future. With care, scholarship and erudition, he explores the current and future challenges that confront the Halakhic process. One need not agree with all of the points he makes, or with all of his conclusions, to appreciate the importance of this volume. The questions he raises must be explored, and he makes an important contribution toward their exploration." --Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Ahavath Torah, Englewood, and Past President, RCA
About the Author
Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth served as Rabbi of the Ohel Ari Congregation in Ra'anana and other Modern Orthodox communities in Israel for 15 years, and as the Rabbi of Bnei Akiva of North America. He was the founder and first executive director of Beit Hillel, director of the rabbinic training program of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization and director of its overseas department. He also worked in Israel's hi-tech industry and served as a captain in the Navy Special Forces.