When a YU student faces an issue involving both complex halacha and a perceived need for social sensitivity, he has no shortage of people to seek out for help.

In the third chapter of tractate Sukka (34b), we learn the important role of social sensitivity in the halachic proccess. To prevent price gouging of the whole hadassim necessary to perform the commandment of taking the four species, Shmuel threatens the merchants by insisting that he will declare the opinion of R’ Tarfon as the halacha. R’ Tarfon held that even hadassim without their tips could be used as a component of the four species, and since cut up hadassim were plentiful, the gambit would effectively end the financial stranglehold of the merchants on the local population.

The last Tosfos on the page and other rishonim ask whether Shmuel really held like R’ Tarfon or whether he just tried to bluff the merchants into lowering their prices, but the message gleaned is the same either way: social pressures effect halachic decisions.

However, one crucial point cannot be overlooked. Even when Shmuel thought of changing accepted halachic practice, the change would only be to another halachically valid opinion, that of R’ Tarfon.

To clarify this point, My rebbe, (R’ Tendler) compares halacha to a box. We can move anywhere within this box depending on the needs of the situation. However, the walls of the box are immovable, and we can neither change them nor leave their confines.

If I were to ask you to name the number one issue facing the Israeli public, most of you would mention the peace process. Most of you would be wrong.

An Israeli public opinion poll published two weeks ago showed barely 30% of respondents felt the peace process was the number one issue. Over 60% of respondents claimed that foremost on their mind was the increasing divide between the secular and religious populations.

Are we, as orthodox Jews, permitted to work with Reform and Conservative clergy in the conversion educational centers established through the Ne’eman Commission? Do we differentiate between working with them on internal religious issues and working with them to present a united front to the world on external issues?

With the Reform and Consevative movements "declaring war" on Orthodox authority over religious matters in Israel, and amidst the ongoing media "battle for the soul of the Jewish people," every student in YU should be trying to figure out how they approach this eternal problem with Jewish unity.

You must choose a side. There is no such thing as neutrality in the face of atrocity. Shtika K’Hoda’a Dami. Silence is complicity.

If you remain indecisive, caught in the middle, you will be caught in the crossfire.

In an effort to assist those interested in answering the above questions, we decided to publish a thirty-year old article authored by R’ J.B. Soloveichik. He addresses question that are as applicable today as they were back then. So are the answers. Many leaders today claim to base their personal philosophy on the Rav’s teachings. Hear him in his own words and judge for yourself.

Specifically, look for the Rav’s sensitivity and aversion towards personal attacks, but see how without a valid halachic option, he firmly and clearly defines the halacha.

I implore you to seek advice, guidance, p’sak, or whatever else you want to call it, to gain an approach to this issue. There is no shortage of Rebbeim willing to help.

Feel free to take social sensitivities into account, but don’t leave our box.