We tend to think of halachah as “Jewish law”, a set of rules to be applied to real-life situations covering everything from ritual to family life, business dealings and social justice. In this wonderful survey, Chaim Saiman, a law professor and yeshivah graduate, reminds us this idea is not wholly accurate. Much of halachah has no direct practical relevance whatsoever.
For example, halachah deals with the ritual status of a basket eaten and excreted whole by an elephant, whether a farmer who ploughs his field with a goat and a fish violates the law of “mixed kinds”, and with the obligations of a man who happens to fall off a roof and impregnates a woman.
While these are fascinating questions, they are unlikely to address situations we will ever actually encounter (unless, in the case of the last example, we are very unfortunate). Even in responsa literature, which ostensibly deals with real-life problems, authors often warn that their answers should not be used for practical purposes.
While this might sound like a shortcoming, for Saiman it shows how halachah operates not only as functional law, but as devotion and a vehicle for moral and philosophical exploration. Halachah at its core is a spiritual enterprise. This is perhaps why it has always resisted codification. He develops this theme thematically and historically,
dealing with halachah as theology, as education and as aggadah (narrative), but also leading us through the history of halachah from the Talmud to the modern day.
Saiman is a clear guide, precise in his language, yet entertaining, amusingly describing Tosafot (a talmudic commentary) as a “group blog”. He is also unafraid to ask difficult questions such as whether halachah is up to the job of dealing with matters of state, such as defence and warfare.
While insightful, the book feels unfinished, incomplete, a little like halachah itself. Perhaps that is its intention. It provides no overall critique or vision for halachah’s future, but instead acts as a gateway, or gate thrown open, inviting us in to explore some more.
