"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.
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June 2, 2011
I knew of a Torah-observant boy at the university who once ate 5 minutes before a (minor) fast was over. He told me he had a class in ten minutes, a lab -- that he wouldn't be able to eat for 2 hours if he didn't eat then. I asked a Rabbi I respected about this -- he said: if the astronauts are off the entry course by 5 inches, they will be lost. He said that Halacha is a precise science as well.
When I told my friend this, he angrily said: The details don't matter. I might have become ill and I couldn't be late for class. I made a decision. Certainly, I don't wish to be righteous fool.
Is Halacha an exact science? How can we know what it is to be a righteous fool?
2 comments:
> Is Halacha an exact science?
Depends who you ask. If you ask an Orthodox rabbi, he'll say yes. if you ask a Reform rabbi he'll say "huh?"
> How can we know what it is to be a righteous fool?
Go to 770 and watch the guys singing the moshiach songs.
Is Halacha an exact science? How can we know what it is to be a righteous fool?»
It might be an exact science but humans cannot be so exact
The only potential error I see is that the student did not consult a Rav before making his decision.
I'm also not sure why the student couldn't have gone to class and excused himself to eat a light bite [EG a protein drink or coffee and a granola bar or orange juice]
I'm also confident that the time given was tzeit and that some poskim are meikel on that.
Perhaps it was as I said above - that he took the law into his own hands that was the issue.
Shalom,
RRW
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