Gray Matter Volume Two: Discourses in the Complex Halachic Issues of Today

by Rabbi Chaim Jachter, Rabb Ezra Frazer

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 Laws of Shabbat, The State of Israel, Family Matters, Beit Din, Pesach, Electricity, and Building and Maintaining Mikvaot.In the section on the Laws of Shabbat, the book describes the duty to violate Shabbat in order to save someones 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 ones garment.The section on Family Matters addresses topics of great importance in todays 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 - like microphones, telephones, or 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.

340 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2023