The decision of a posek is known as apsak halakha ("ruling of law"; pl.piskei halakha) or simply a "psak".Piskei halakha are generally recorded in theresponsa literature.
A posek has to be an individual that is particularly learned in a large area of law. They have to have shown ability to apply complex legal rulings to a variety of novel situations. They have to possess a very clear command of the Talmud, the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law) and legal responsa with practical applications. This is a huge amount of material to have mastery over and will take years of dedicated study to achieve. This is generally more than the training of a rabbi or rav of a community.
Generally, in each generation there may be a handful ofposkim who are considered aPosek HaDor ("posek of the present generation"). Their views have enormous impact across the world of Jewry. An example of anAshkenazi Posek HaDor would beRabbi Moshe Feinstein while a Sephardic example would beRabbi Ovadia Yosef.
Many rely on therav in their community (inHasidic communities, sometimes therebbe) for legal rulings. But the rav may defer to a posek or the leading posek in the country or world for a complex issue.
Poskim will generally not overrule a specific law unless based on an earlier authority: a posek will generally extend a law to new situations but will not change the halakhah.
Conservative Judaism approaches the idea ofposek, andHalakha in general, somewhat differently:poskim here apply a relatively lower weighting to precedent, and will thus frequently reinterpret (or even change) a previous ruling through a formal argument. Although there are someposkim in the Conservative movement (e.g.,Louis Ginzberg,David Golinkin,Joel Roth, andElliot Dorff), the rulings of any one individual rabbi are considered less authoritative than a consensus ruling. Thus, the Conservative movement'sRabbinical Assembly maintains aCommittee on Jewish Law and Standards, whose decisions are accepted as authoritative within the American Conservative movement. At the same time, every Conservative rabbi has the right ofmara d'atra to interpret Jewish law for his, her, or their own community regardless of the responsa of the Law Committee.[1]
Although Reform stresses the individual autonomy of its membership, it never completely abandoned the field of responsa literature, if only to counter its rivals' demands. Even Classical Reformers such as RabbiDavid Einhorn composed some. RabbiSolomon Freehof, and his successor RabbiWalter Jacob, attempted to create a concept of "Progressive Halacha", authoring numerous responsa based on a methodology laying great emphasis on current sensibilities and ethical ideals. Full text collections of Reform responsa are available on the website of theCentral Conference of American Rabbis.[1][2]
The Reconstructionist position is that if Jews had formed cohesive communities again, their rulings would be binding, but presently Judaism is in a "post-Halakhic state". Therefore, their basic policy is to allow tradition "a vote, not a veto" in communal and personal affairs.[3]
^Jacob, Walter (1988).Liberal Judaism and Halakhah. Rodef Shalom Press. pp. 90–94.ISBN0-929699-00-9.
^Meyer, Michael A. (1993). "Changing Attitudes of Liberal Judaism toward Halakhah and Minhag".Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies.JSTOR23536120. See a collection ofCCAR Responsa.
^Sacks, Jonathan (1992).Crisis and Covenant: Jewish Thought After the Holocaust. Manchester University Press. p. 158.ISBN0-7190-4203-8.
Hecht, N. S.; et al. (eds.).An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law. Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-826262-0.
Jacobs, Louis (1999).A Tree of Life: Diversity, Creativity, and Flexibility in Jewish Law. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (Second ed.).ISBN1-874774-48-X.
