Rabbi J. David Bleich
Rabbi J. David Bleich
Rabbi J. David Bleich

Sefer Reviewed By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

He is the master of the genre–indeed, the very inventor of it. The genre Rabbi J. David Bleich invented was expounding on the confluence of new technology and how the poskim understand and deal with its halachic implications. Ever since the first volume appeared, Rabbi Bleich’s Contemporary Halakhic Problems have consistently shown a comprehensive and remarkable mastery of the underlying halachic material. The first volume of this series appeared way back in 1976.

I recall sitting with a dictionary, breaking my teeth trying to decipher and decode the rabbi’s words. His vast legal vocabulary was certainly a hurdle, as we all yearned to understand his presentation of the various halachic views of contemporary issues. It is now four decades later, and, true to his fashion, Rav Bleich’s latest volume, the seventh, does not disappoint.

As in previous volumes, Rav Bleich’s treatment of a subject matter is quite thorough. Nine times out of ten, his material is more thoroughly researched than that which appears in Hebrew volumes that discuss the same issue. There is a difference, however, between Rav Bleich’s first volume in 1976 and his current one 40 years later. Back then, Rabbi Bleich was a chronicler of contemporary halachah. Now, he is an espouser and innovator of it. His other publications and the incisive comments he often includes after his survey of the recent halachic material he covers are proof of that.

In this volume, Rav Bleich deals with a number of fascinating issues: the liability of product manufacturers and halachah, detached buttons on Shabbos, cochlear implants, harm caused by spiritual damage, the property rights of the deceased, acquiring lost property through the use of “chatzer,” fathering a child after one’s death, numerous mothers and halachah, a b’ris milah using a laser, medical tattooing, entering a church, video surveillance and yichud, video surveillance and chalav Yisrael, a number of Pesach issues, and much more.

Rav Bleich, as has been his style since the very beginning, is attuned to the nuances of halachah. He notes (p. 300) the novel reading of Rav Vosner in Shevet HaLevi III #175 that would forbid the use of a partial ovum donated by a married woman from a derashah of the verse “v’davak b’ishto” found in an Acharon, the Keren Orah. The Keren Orah is used by Rav Vosner to actually forbid a situation where someone else contributed to the child’s genesis. Rav Bleich compares Rav Vosner’s view with that of Rav Elyashiv’s and wonders whether Rav Elyashiv’s concerns were the same.

On page 487, Rav Bleich deals with the issue of plastic-foam cups, citing the late Rabbi Blumenkrantz’s view that such cups are forbidden on account of the zinc stearate used to release the cup from its mold during the manufacturing process. Rav Bleich discusses a number of pertinent halachos, and in a footnote dismisses Rav Gavriel Zinner’s discussion of the matter in the Teves 5765 edition of Ohr Yisroel (a Torah journal published in Brooklyn). There are, however, a number of authors who address the issue of that same journal whom Rav Bleich does not cite.

In this author’s own conversations with the late Rav Blumenkrantz z’l, I made a startling discovery which could explain a number of Rabbi Blumenkrantz’s halachic positions. He did not hold of the use of s’nifim (the combined marshaling of a multiplicity of leniencies) to create a general halachic leniency. When I brought this up to some of his children, however, they were not in agreement that this view was part of his methodology of p’sak halachah.

In chapter three, “Scientific Hypotheses and Halachic Inerrancy,” regarding spontaneous generation, Rav Bleich is not bashful in calling out R’ Natan Slifkin’s misreading or misunderstanding of Rav Yitzchok HaLevi’s view on the matter (p. 86). Rav Bleich points out Rav Herzog’s awareness of current rejection of spontaneous generation, but writes that the statement “We have only the words of Chazal” does not at all indicate that he believed Chazal to be in error.

On page 119, Rav Bleich discusses the various views as to whether a video camera is sufficient to address the prohibition of yichud, seclusion of a man and woman who are not married to each other. He discusses Rav Vosner’s and Rav Gavriel Zinner’s view that the video camera is similar to a minor between the ages of five and nine. They permit it if the video camera is monitored, but not for someone who is “libo gas bah.” This author strongly believes that this leniency is wrong and should not be employed at all. The reason being that there have been many cases where false representations were made that video feeds were being watched and they were not–causing predators to take advantage of others. Rav Bleich perhaps should have discussed the limitations of this technological solution.

And while the tone of the material may seem solemn, Rabbi Bleich’s sense of humor does come out in full force, as exhibited on the bottom of page 242. I will not spoil the humorous linguistic gymnastics Rabbi Bleich employs. Read it yourself.

The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com.

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