The following is a list of notable halachic rulings by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the foremost halachic authority of the late 20th century in the United States;

Responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

in '' Igrot Moshe'' are cited in parentheses. * Artificial insemination from a non-Jewish donor (EH I:10,71, II:11, IV:32.5) *Ascending the Temple Mount nowadays (OH II:113) *

Cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...

(HM II:66) * Bat Mitzvah for girls (OH I:104 (1956), OH II:97 (1959), OH IV:36) *

Brain death Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...

as an indication of death under Jewish law. (YD II:146,174, III:132, IV:54)Feinstein & Tendler (1996) However, this is disputed. * Cholov Yisroel Permitted reliance (at least under extenuating circumstances, such as if no Cholov Yisroel milk is available) on U.S. government agency supervision in ensuring that milk was reliably kosher, and it is as if Jews had personally witnessed it (YD I:47). This was a highly controversial ruling disputed by prominent peers of Feinstein. * Cheating (he forbids it) for the N.Y. Regents exams (HM II:30) *Classical music in religious settings (YD II:111) *Commemorating the Holocaust, Yom ha-Shoah (YD IV:57.11) *

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

, including its clergy and schools (e. g., YD II:106–107) *

Donating blood A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called fractionation (separation of whole blood components). Donation may be of whole blood ...

for pay (HM I:103) *Education of girls (e. g., YD II:109, YD II:113 YD III:87.2) * End-of-life medical care * Eruv projects in New York City *Hazardous medical operations * Heart transplantation (YD 2:174.3) *Labor union and related employment privileges (e. g., HM I:59) *

Mehitza A ''mechitza'' ( he, מחיצה, partition or division, pl.: , ) in Judaism, is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women. The rationale in halakha (Jewish law) for a partition dividing men and women is derived from ...

(esp. OH I:39) *Mixed-seating on a subway or other public transportation (EH II:14) *

Psychiatric care Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial p ...

(YD II:57) *Separation of conjoined twins who were fused all the way from the shoulder to the pelvis and shared one heart. It is during this case that C. Everett Koop, the 13th Surgeon General of the United States, said "The ethics and morals involved in this decision are too complex for me. I believe they are too complex for you as well. Therefore I referred it to an old rabbi on the Lower East Side of New York. He is a great scholar, a saintly individual. He knows how to answer such questions. When he tells me, I too will know." *

Shaking hands A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes a ...

between men and women (OH I:113; EH I:56; EH IV:32) *

Smoking marijuana Cannabis smoking (or colloquially smoking pot) is the inhalation of smoke or vapor released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbe ...

(YD III:35) * Tay–Sachs disease fetus abortion, esp. in debate with Eliezer Waldenberg *

Smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

See RCA decision and, earlier, RCA Roundtable. (Statement by Saul Berman, Reuven Bulka, Daniel Landes and Jeffrey Woolf.) "Proposal on smoking" (unpublished) July 1991. *

Veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...

raised in factory conditions (EH IV, 92:2) * Permitted remarriage after Holocaust (EH I:44)

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite thesis , first = Norma Baumel , last = Joseph , title = Separate Spheres: Women in the Responsa of Rabbi Moses Feinstein , publisher=

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, year = 1995 , type = PhD thesis Moshe Feinstein Judaism-related lists Jewish law Haredi Judaism in the United States