Giving a Halachic ruling encompasses more than we may think. R' Yisrael Salanter once visited a household to help a widow determine whether her milk was kosher after a possible mix-up. After ruling leniently, someone challenged him, suggesting he might have been overly permissive. R' Yisrael responded, “The Torah commands us to care for the orphan and the widow. If this milk is declared non-kosher, she may be unable to afford more, and her children might go hungry. My leniency fulfills the mitzvah of helping the downtrodden.”
In another episode, this one with R' Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, R' Chaim Ozer tested a young rabbi, asking, “What do you need to know to be a rabbi?” The young man confidently responded: “Kashrus, Shabbos, and Nida.” R' Chaim Ozer gently corrected him: “You forgot the most important thing. A rabbi must know how to care for orphans, widows and the community. It’s not just about halachic rulings; it’s about understanding people and their struggles.”
Here is one last story on this topic. A widow with ten children came to a great rabbi with a question about her chicken, which might be non-kosher. The rabbi’s students, analyzing the halachic sources, declared that the chicken was unquestionably treif. The rabbi, however, looked at the chicken, then at the woman, and declared that the chicken was kosher. The students were shocked and asked, “But Rebbe, what about all the halachic sources including the Shach and Taz that forbid it?” The rabbi replied, “You were looking at the chicken, but I was looking at the widow. You must understand not only the halacha but the person asking the question and the impact your ruling will have on their life.”
Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander ztz”l for close to five years and received semichah from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. Rabbi Alt has written close to 2,000 articles on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of nine books including the recently released “Exhilarating Torah Insights on Recreation and Vacation.” His writings, many of which have been translated into Yiddish, Hebrew, German and French, inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. His shiurim can be found on various websites including Kol Halashon’s. Rabbi Alt lives with his wife and family in Kiryat Yearim (where the Aron was for 20 years [Shmuel 1, 7:1,2]) where he studies, lectures, writes and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.
