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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=990322115-19062009>From a Cross Currents
Post:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=990322115-19062009></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT><SPAN class=990322115-19062009>
<P><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=990322115-19062009>"</SPAN>Should it surprise us
when people operating within this mindset turn to Torah and do the same? Sagi
and Zohar claim to have found two sources in the gemara, and turned them into
two different shitos regarding conversion requirements. Alas, say the authors,
halachic thought jumped ship in the late 19th century (motivated, of course, by
waning rabbinic authority just as it had to confront the dizzying new choices of
modernity) and opted for the more onerous set of rules.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Halachists, of course, do not approach text this way.
Neither do ninth graders with serious gemara background. When they see conflict
between sources, they generally endeavor to reduce the tension as much as
possible, sometimes by successfully harmonizing sources, and where that is
impossible, reducing the intellectual distance between the opposing viewpoints
as much as possible.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </P>
<P><SPAN class=990322115-19062009><FONT face=Arial>Does the chevra agree with
this analysis of halachists approach? Is there a specific source for
the approach?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=990322115-19062009><FONT face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P><SPAN class=990322115-19062009><FONT face=Arial>KT<BR>Joel
Rich</FONT></SPAN></P></SPAN></FONT></DIV><br><br><table bgcolor=white style="color:black"><tr><td><br>THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE <br>
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