Da'at Torah and Censorship

Abstract

Recent pronouncements by prominent rabbis from the Orthodox Jewish world have censored the expression of ideas, the presentation of historical research, and the participation in certain cultural events. The public accounts of the processes have produced the perception among many religious Jews that the decision-making process is fundamentally flawed and that there are serious, systemic problems that both undercut the reliability of the decisions reached and create additional harmful side-effects.

This paper neither assumes that the public accounts are accurate nor tries to determine whether they are accurate. Instead, the point of this paper is that the public perception alone – whether or not it is factually justified – is unfortunate and ought to be redressed. If the public perception is inaccurate, this paper respectfully calls on the rabbinic authorities involved issue appropriate public statements to set the record straight. Perhaps even more importantly, this paper urges the adoption of a series of specific steps to ensure procedural integrity in the formulation and promulgation of future rabbinic enactments.

Keywords: authority, autonomy, ban, books, Bible, censorship, Da'at Torah, free speech, Hareidi, individual responsibility, Jewish, Jewish law, Judaism, Kamenetsky, Orthodox, rabbis, religion, Slifkin, Torah