Is There Doctrine in Halacha?
Is it thinkable that even in the realm of Halacha the notion of doctrine has no application? This seems very unlikely. After all, the idea I have been advancing with respect to biblical/rabbinic characterizations of God, that conceptual refinement and coherence is not a high priority, is surely not true of Halacha. Talmudic study is notoriously wonderful training in analytical and conceptual skills important to philosophy. That this is so reflects the conceptual rigor implicit in the Talmudic texts, the emphasis on fine distinctions, on clarity. If the notion of doctrine has a home anywhere in Jewish thought, it certainly has a home in the realm of Halacha. But does it? The tradition speaks of the sea of the Talmud; and when one includes the commentaries, one might well speak in oceanic terms. As one who has not ventured out far from shore, and in no more than a rowboat, I am not in a position to answer the question. But ideas are what our field is all about, and the anti-doctrine idea
