AVOIDING INTERVENTION AS A MODEL FOR DE-FACTO RELIGIOUS COMPROMISE

Halakhic rulings of rabbis have been used in recent years regarding burning issues on the Israeli social and political agenda. By presenting clearly defined positions, these rulings preclude compromise and impede the reasonable resolution of conflict. This article marshals an array of responses from various Jewish communities throughout the ages wherein leading rabbis restrained from reproach or withheld taking position on sensitive issues. The various rationales for restraint are presented and the article posits a halakhic category of restraint which resides in a dialectic relationship with the command to rebuke.