JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

feinstein, moses
rosh yeshivah of the Lakewood Yeshiva, Rabbi Aaron *Kotler,
Feinstein became the acknowledged leader of Orthodoxy.
While he did address broader, communal issues throughout
his lifetime, his major impact was in the realm of Halakhah.
His reputation grew rapidly to the point that his rulings were
accepted as authoritative by Orthodox Jews throughout the
world. Feinstein’s responsa are entitled Iggerot Moshe, the first
four volumes follow the Shulḥan Arukh: Oraḥ Ḥayyim (1959),
Yoreh De’ah (1959), Even ha-Ezer (1961), and Ḥoshen Mishpat
(1963), while subsequent volumes (1973, 2 vols. in 1981, 1996)
contain responsa from different sections of the Shulḥan Arukh.
A detailed index to Iggerot Moshe, entitled Yad Moshe was published
in 1987. He also published his talmudic novellae entitled
Dibrot Moshe to Bava Kamma in two volumes (1946, 1953), to
Bava Meẓia (1966), to Shabbat in two volumes (1971, 1976), to
Kiddushin and Yevamot (1979), to Gittin (1982), to Ḥulin and
Nedarim (1983), and to Ketubbot and Pesaḥim (1984). Darash
Moshe, his sermons on the weekly Torah reading and the holidays,
were published posthumously in 1988.
Feinstein’s world view encompassed the world of Torah.
“My entire world view,” he wrote (Iggerot Moshe 2:11), “stems
only from knowledge of Torah without any mixture of outside
ideas, whose judgment is truth whether it is strict or lenient.
Arguments derived from foreign outlooks or false opinions
of the heart are nothing.” Nevertheless, Feinstein was keenly
aware of the world around him, constantly applying the principles
of Torah law to new situations and circumstances. Indeed,
when he dealt with medical problems, he always consulted
with leading physicians, often asking for a second opinion. He
demanded to understand the medical issues in depth. Feinstein
served as the posek (halakhic decisor) for many medical
students and doctors as well as for the Association of Orthodox
Jewish Scientists.
Feinstein’s responsa deal with a very broad range of issues
and topics. He devoted a great deal of time to grappling with
problems in Jewish education. He had little tolerance for the
teaching of secular studies; however, he permitted it because of
government regulations (ibid. 3:83). He demanded that science
textbooks agree with the idea that God created the world (ibid.
3:73). He was unyielding in his opposition to coed classes, but
he did allow women to teach boys, acknowledging the reality
of the educational world in America. He required fathers to
pay for the tuition for their daughters’ education.
The Modern Orthodox community in America also
looked to Rabbi Feinstein for halakhic guidance. At times,
his answers to their questions exhibited a flexibility he did not
show to the ultra-Orthodox community. For instance, Feinstein
permitted fathers to be present at school performances
where girls under the age of 11 sang, even though he frowned
upon the practice (ibid. 1:26).
Other topics that received his attention include the height
of the meḥiẓah (partition) in the synagogue, the use of glass
in constructing a meḥiẓah, renting a hotel ballroom for High
Holy Day services, allowing an American owner of an Israeli
factory to keep his factory open on the second day of Yom
Tov, the status of children conceived through artificial insemination,
and allowing shoḥatim (ritual slaughterers) to
form their own union.
Feinstein, highly regarded for his dedication and selflessness,
was elected to positions of importance in the Orthodox
Jewish world. He was president of the *Union of Orthodox
Rabbis and chairman of the American branch of the Mo’eẓet
Gedolei ha-Torah of Agudat Israel. He was also active in guiding
and obtaining support for Orthodox Israeli educational
institutions, particularly the Ḥinnukh Aẓma’i school system
of Agudat Israel. Despite his public, communal involvement
and his role as the leading posek of the second half of the 20th
century, Feinstein was renowned for his simple lifestyle, his
piety, and his humility.
Feinstein passed away during the night before the Fast
of Esther, March 23, 1986. Over 150,000 people attended the
funeral services in New York. Eulogies were given by rabbis
from the entire spectrum of Orthodoxy, from a representative
of the Satmar ḥasidic community to two speakers from Yeshiva
University. He was buried three days later in Jerusalem.
An obituary notice appeared in the “Milestones” section of
Time magazine (April 7, 1986, p. 42). Perhaps the most telling
indication of his impact on Orthodox Jewry in the 20th century
is the saying that every rabbi receiving Orthodox ordination
in America needed two things upon graduation: A lu’aḥ,
a calendar that lists all the changes in the prayer services, and
Rabbi Moses Feinstein’s telephone number.
Bibliography: O. Rand (ed.), Toledot Anshei Shem (1950),
98. A. Rakefet (Rothkoff), in: Niv ha-Midrashia (Spring-Summer
1971), 58–71; I. Robinson, in: Judaism, 35 (1986), 35–46; M.D. Angel,
in: Tradition, 23:3 (1988), 41–52; N. Baumel Joseph, in: American Jewish
History, 83:2 (1995), 205–22; W. Kelman, in: Survey of Jewish Affairs
1987 (1988), 173–87; M.D. Tendler, in: Pioneers in Jewish Medical
Ethics (1997), 55–68; F. Rosner, in: Pioneers in Jewish Medical Ethics
(1997), 47–75; N. Sherman, in: Jewish Observer, 19:7 (1986), 8–30; S.
Finkelman, Reb Moshe: The Life and Ideals of HaGaon Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein (1986); D. Hartman, “Setiyah u-Gevulot ba-Halakhah ha-
Ortodoxit be-Et ha-Ḥadashah,” dissertation (2003).
[David Derovan (2nd ed.)]
FEINSTEIN, MOSES (1896–1964), Hebrew poet and educator.
Born in Russia, Feinstein arrived in the United States
in 1912. He devoted his life to Herzliah – the Hebrew Academy
and Teachers’ Institute which he founded in New York
in 1921. His volumes of poetry are the lyrical Shirim ve-Sonettot
(“Poems and Sonnets,” 1935); Ḥalom ve-Goral (“Dream
and Destiny,” 1937), a description of a journey to Palestine;
and Abraham Abulafia (1957), a philosophical poem about
the 13th-century mystic. Feinstein’s collected poems appeared
posthumously in a volume called Al Saf ha-Sof (“At the Threshold
of the End,” 1964).
Bibliography: Silberschlag, in: JBA, 23 (1965/66), 70–76; A.
Epstein, Soferim Ivrim ba-Amerikah, 1 (1952), 125–41; R. Wallenrod,
The Literature of Modern Israel (1956), index; Waxman, Literature, 4
(19602), 1072–73; 5 (19602), 192–4.
[Eisig Silberschlag]
742 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6