Gray Matter volume 2 GRAY
MATTER VOLUME 2 is an exploration of the application of halacha (Jewish
law) in contemporary society. It includes over thirty essays on topics
of interest. Each chapter explains the subject and its background in
clear English and then takes the reader through the varying views among
the leading poskim (halachic decisors). Rather than providing simple answers to questions, the book takes readers through the process of how halacha is decided and explores the reasons for different conclusions. The
book is divided into seven sections: Laws of Shabbat, The State of
Israel, Family Matters, Beit Din, Pesach, Electricity, and Building and
Maintaining Mikva’ot. In the
section on the Laws of Shabbat, the book describes the duty to violate
Shabbat in order to save someone’s life and the associated questions
that arise. Must one minimize the violations when possible? May an
emergency worker, who was obligated to travel to save someone’s life,
return after the emergency has ended? Is it preferable to request the
services of a non-observant doctor over an observant doctor, because
the former would violate Shabbat anyway? These and other questions are
explored and the views of the leading poskim are explained. The section
ends with a chapter on the squeezing of lemons on Shabbat, a
surprisingly controversial topic. The
State of Israel raises halachic questions that are entirely new. In a
country run largely by Jews, can one utilize electricity on Shabbat
that is generated by electric plants run by non-observant Jews who are
violating Shabbat? The changing technology over the past decades
complicates this already difficult question. The book surveys the
Israeli literature to provide the varying conclusions and how Israelis
manage this situation. Other topics discussed are the offering of korbanot today and over which areas of Israel one is obligated to rend one’s garment. The
section on Family Matters addresses topics of great importance in
today’s society. To what extent may one reveal the flaws of a potential
marriage partner? What solutions exist to infertility caused by halacha?
This book comprehensively maps out the issues involved with these
questions. The book also discusses how the Beth Din of America handled
the agunot (stranded wives) from the World Trade Center tragedy, as well as other subjects. Beit Din (Jewish religious court) is a controversial topic. The book strongly advocates the use of a beit din and explores how to select a court, issue a summons, and the problem of lawyers in the beit din system. Rabbi Jachter brings his extensive experience as dayan (religious judge) who trained with the Jerusalem Rabbinic Court to elucidate these topics with great insight. The
section on Pesach discusses different appliances common in the modern
kitchen and how/whether to kasher them for Pesach. These chapters are
essential for understanding how to run a kosher kitchen. Can one fulfill a mitzvah
by hearing it through an electronic medium - microphones, telephones,
hearing aids? The section on Electricity addresses this much-debated
topic as well as the issue of electric Chanukah menorahs. Recognizing
the complexity of the physics involved, this section includes insight
from an expert in that aspect of these questions. In
one of the few presentations of this topic in English, the book
describes the complex issues involved in building and maintaining a mikvah
(ritual bath). Not only are the halachic subjects addressed, but the
book also relates important information based on extensive experience.
One emerges from reading this section with a much better understanding
of exactly what a mikvah is and how a community would go about building one.
ISBN 1-933143-10-X, 324 pages, $22.95
Learn about volume 1
Buy it now
By Chaim Jachter, with Ezra Frazer
| Praise for the Book |
|
“Many people in our times are thirsty to hear the word of God but are
incapable of searching through texts on their own. Rabbi Chaim
[Jachter] did well in arranging everything like a set table before
readers.” —Rabbi Hershel Schachter “Rabbi Chaim Jachter has already established, through his first book, his ability to present difficult halachic questions, to cover them from all perspectives, to explain and clarify the views of the great poskim [halachic decisors] — both from previous generations and from today, and to explain them in a clear and understandable format, in English and in an order that makes it easy for the reader to understand the subject in depth.” —Rabbi Elazar Teitz |
Excerpts
Rabbi Chaim Jachter (Google
him)
teaches Judaic studies at the Torah Academy of Bergen County, New
Jersey, and resides with his wife and four children in Teaneck, NJ. He
serves as a Dayan (Rabbinical Judge) with the Beth Din of Elizabeth New
Jersey and has trained with the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court. Rabbi
Jachter has published dozens of articles on practical halachah in
leading Hebrew and English journals as well as a prior volume of Gray
Matter. Rabbi Ezra Frazer (Google
him)
graduated from the Torah Academy of Bergen County, where he studied
with Rabbi Jachter and where he later returned as a Tanach teacher. He
holds rabbinical ordination, a BA in Computer Science, and Masters
degrees in Secondary Education and Tanach, all from Yeshiva University.
He is currently in his sixth year of study in Yeshivat Har Etzion.
Eliane Tonkin z"l, to whose memory this book is dedicated, is Rabbi
Frazer's grandmother.
Inside the Book
Table of Contents
Saving Lives on Shabbat
Squeezing Lemons on Shabbat
The State of Israel
Can We Offer Korbanot Today?
Using Electricity from Israeli Power
Plants on Shabbat
Which Parts of Israel Warrant
Tearing Keri’ah
Family Matters
Revealing Flaws of a Potential
Marriage Partner
"Orthodox Infertility"
In Vitro Fertilization
The Beth Din of America's Handling
of the World Trade Center Agunot
Chatzitzot and Tevilah
Beit Din
Lifnim Mishurat Hadin
The Prohibition Against Using Civil
Courts
Summons to Beit Din
Pesharah in Theory and in Practice
The Role of Lawyers in Beit Din
Pesach
May One Kasher A Conventional
Oven for Pesach
Kashering Dishwashers for Pesach
Kashering a Microwave Oven for
Pesach
Electricity
Fulfilling Mitzvot Through Electronic
Hearing Devices
Why Don’t We Use Electric
Chanukah Menorahs
Building and Maintaining Mikva’ot
The Community’s Responsibility to
Build a Mikvah
Distinguishing Between Mikvah and
Ma’ayan
Mayim She’uvim
Zeri’ah
Five Approaches to Creating a
Mikvah
Putting Oneself in Piku’ach Nefesh Situations (PDF)
Fulfilling Mitzvot Through Electronic Hearing Devices (PDF)
Blog Posts About The Book
Electric Hanukah Menorahs
How Does A Beis Din Work?
Are All Rabbis Created Equal?
Gray Matter 2 Reviewed
About the Authors
Related Links
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