Rav Yoni Rosensweig recently wrote a thought-provoking post about a question he received: may one drink wine poured by a non-religious Jew? After analyzing the halachic sources, he told the caller that it was permissible. The caller then pushed back: “But isn’t this a minority opinion? Aren’t you being lenient compared to most rabbis?”

Rav Yoni rejected the assumption behind the question. Yes, many rabbis rule stringently – but that does not mean they reached that conclusion after thoroughly studying the sugya. Many rely on inherited stringencies, communal instinct, or simply the “safe” position rather than on a fresh, source-based analysis. That is not the same as learning the issue from the ground up. When he ruled permissively, he argued, he was not embracing a minority view; he was simply following what emerges from a close reading of the Rishonim and Acharonim. The number of rabbis who agree or disagree is secondary. What matters is the integrity of the halachic process.

To illustrate this, Rav Yoni invoked his rebbe, Rav Nachum Rabinovitch zt”l – a first-rate posek who often reached conclusions that were not widely accepted, yet were grounded deeply in classical Torah sources. Rav Rabinovitch did not seek to be bold; he sought to be honest to the sugya. Rav Yoni concludes that genuine psak comes from rigorous, independent learning – not from following trends or defaulting to caution.

I found Rav Yoni’s post compelling. He captures an essential aspect of psak halacha: responsible decision-making requires mastery of the material and the courage to rule according to one’s understanding, even when others disagree. Many rabbanim, as he notes, may never have examined all facets of a topic; their bottom line may reflect instinct or communal caution rather than robust halachic analysis.

And yet – this is only part of the story. To fully understand psak, two additional dimensions must be........

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