| Whereas I believe that the analysis on women and Torah reading is flawed, I completely agree conceptually with Professor Sperber. His books in general show a vast understanding of Jewish law`s development and scholarship. it is true that our sense of Halakha has moved from the realm of the real, a "living" of Torah, to one of "creation" where we create a completely new world and approach and then live in it. Rather than apply Torah to our daily lives, we are now trying to squeeze our daily lives into a newly created worldview of Torah. As a very orthodox Sephardic Jew, I see the differences in approach between Ashkenazim and Sephardim, which also leaks into the style of learning Torah, one of tortured pilpul instead of rational thought. The results are absurd, such as causing the burning of wigs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars without properly investigating the facts, or cancelling a concert that cost thousands of dollars without properly assessing the issue. |
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