Inquiries into Norms in Orthodox Judaism

Soloveitchik's Philosophy and Its Subsequent Developments

Abstract

Joseph B. Soloveitchik, one of the most influential leaders of Orthodox Judaism in America, presented a new understanding of halakhah (rabbinic law). In Halakhic Man (1944), he explained the concept of “ideal halakhah” as an a priori cognitive framework and argues that its goal is to practice repentance as individual self-actualization. In The Lonely Man of Faith (1965), he further described a “covenantal community” between God and man for their mutual faith, and argued that halakhah, by integrating the sacred and secular realms, should play a significant role in realizing the community. Soloveitchik's philosophical inquiries into the essential nature of halakhah have influenced a variety of movements in modern Judaism, of which critical feminist philosophical arguments in Orthodox Judaism are remarkable examples. Blu Greenberg and Tamar Ross critically consider Soloveitchik's concept of “ideal halakhah” and his idea of covenant, and describe halakhah as a more dynamic system of laws to explore a new model of norms for the self-responsibility of women in their religious lives.