Quotes About Halakhah

For three years, there was a dispute between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, the former asserting, "The law (halakhah) is according to our view," and the latter asserting, "The law is according to our view." Then, a voice issued from heaven announcing, "Both these and these are the words of the living God, but the law is in agreement with the School of Hillel.

the concept of the halakhah31 that man must act not only according to general principles of justice, truth, and love, but that every act of life be "sanctified," becoming imbued with a religious spirit. "Right action" refers to everything: to the prayer in the morning, to the benediction over food, to the sight of the ocean and of the first flower of the season, to helping the poor, to visiting the sick, to not making a man ashamed in the presence of others.

Except for the three grave sins of murder, incest and idolatry, it was axiomatic in Halakhah that every commandment of the Torah might be violated to save a human life. But the rabbi also knew the mitzvah that commanded a Jew to be unafraid of any danger in the proclamation of his true faith. "'Let

Neither ritual decisions nor political leadership constitutes the main task of halakhic man. Far from it. The actualization of the ideals of justice and righteousness is that pillar of fire which halakhic man follows, when he, as a rabbi and teacher in Israel, serves his community.