Who Can Declare New Prohibitions?
What does it mean when rabbis make new declarations against certain things? Do all Jews need to heed their call? Join Rabbi Dovid Fink as he explores the halachic implications of rabbis who make prohibitions in our time.
Who Can Declare New Prohibitions?: Lesson
Do our rabbis have the authority to change halacha?
Can they create new prohibitions or obligations?
In this series we will survey the opinions of the principal poskim with an aim to understanding the underlying nature of rabbinic authority.
Hebrew sources are available through the links in both WORD format and pdf. In class we will translate and explain these sources.
Who Can Declare New Prohibitions?: Lesson
According to some, the consensus of Rabbis in every generation can institute new halachot. Today we look into the basis of this opinion.
Then we turn to those who hold that post-Talmudic Rabbis have no authority to legislate new halachot. We will focus on the position of the Tsits Eliezer, who was ambivalent on this issue.
In addition to being one of Rabbi Brovender's first students, Rabbi Dovid Fink is an outstanding expertﾠand teacher of Halacha. Rabbi Fink received his Rabbinic ordination from ITRI and the Mir and was awarded his Ph.D in Semitic Languages and Linguistics from Yale University. Rav Fink has taught thousands of students from all over the world for over 35 years.