[Avodah] t a fyneral

[Joseph C. Kaplan]

"The real question in this case is about pluralism. Do official and
quasi-official bodies like the Rabbanut and the Chevra Kadisha have an
obligation to permit anything that is within the generally accepted bounds
of Orthodox practice, whether or not they personally rule that the action is
permitted? In which case, how exactly do we define those bounds? Or should
they follow their own halachic conscience, and forbid activities that they
consider assur? "

I'd like to add a sub-question to Ilana's perceptive questions:  does the fact that we're talking about minhagim affecting mourners, who are in a difficult emotional state, affect the answer to these questions?  That is, should the standards governing demanding that  a mourner follow a minhag of mourning that he/she finds emotionally problematic be the same as, for example, a rabbi deciding whether to insist that a male not put on tefillin in the rabbi's shul on chol HaMoed?

Joseph Kaplan
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