הנודע ביהודה

The Noda BiYehuda, Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, is the rabbi of Prague and the greatest decisor of his generation, to whom people turned from all of Europe with the hardest questions. The responsa 'Noda BiYehuda,' from which he is named, is one of the central works of questions and answers in halachic literature, in which he decided complicated questions with straight reasoning and with strength.

The Noda BiYehuda lived in a stormy transitional era, as the winds of the Enlightenment began to blow and new currents undermined the tradition. He stood firm, ruling without fear, but also with caution and moderation, and was not drawn after extremism. His greatness lay in the combination of the courage to decide with settled judgment.

Tradition tells of his immense sharpness and also of his reverence. He opposed the excessive publicizing of Kabbalah among the masses, out of concern for the way the false messiahs had exploited it, yet honored the secret in its place. He sought to keep healthy boundaries between what is fitting for the many and what is reserved for the few.

What do we learn from him? That a halachic decision requires both courage and moderation, and that a great decisor is not drawn after extremism but weighs with settled judgment. The Noda BiYehuda teaches that one can stand firm against the winds of the time without losing one's judgment, and that caution in guarding boundaries is itself part of wisdom.