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'''''Igros Moshe''''' ({{langx|he|אגרות משה| |Epistles of Moses}}; [[Modern Hebrew|Israeli]]/[[Sephardic Hebrew|Sephardic]] pronunciation: ''Igrot Moshe'') is a nine-volume series of ''[[halakhic]]'' [[History of responsa in Judaism|responsa]] by Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]]. The first seven volumes were published during Rabbi Feinstein's lifetime, while the remaining two were published posthumously in Jerusalem.
== Overview ==
[[File:Harav Moshe Feinstein.png|thumb|Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]]]]
Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]] was recognized during his lifetime as the ''[[posek]] hador'', the final decisor in ''halakhic'' queries, by much of the world's Orthodox Jewish community, due to his reputation as a ''[[talmid chacham]]'' with profound knowledge in all areas of [[Torah]]. The most difficult questions were often mailed to him. In 1959, a compilation of these questions related to the laws of ''[[Orach Chaim]]'' were printed in the first volume of ''Igros Moshe''.<ref name=Great>{{cite book |last1=Bamberger |first1=Rabbi Moshe |title=Great Jewish Classics |date=December 2017 |publisher=Mesorah Publications, Ltd. |location=Brooklyn, NY |isbn=978-1-4226-1950-6 |pages=192–194}}</ref> Later volumes were printed over the next twenty five years, with the publishing of the sixth volume in c. 1985.<ref>{{cite web |title=אגרות משה - חלק ז |url=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/921 |website=hebrewbooks.org}}</ref> The remaining two volumes were published posthumously, largely based on manuscripts, with the final printing in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Igros Moshe |url=https://tablet.otzar.org/he/book/book.php?book=170567 |website=otzar.org |publisher=[[Torah database#Otzar HaHochma|Otzar HaChochma]] |access-date=16 May 2021}}</ref> Altogether, the series includes thousands of responsa.<ref name=Great/> In addition, an [[Index (publishing)|index]] titled ''Yad Moshe'' was published, listing different ideas and where one can find relating ''halakhos'' in the ''Igros Moshe''. His son-in-law, Rabbi [[David Tendler]], translated some of ''Igros Moshe'' in a work titled ''Responsa of Rav Moshe Feinstein: translation and commentary''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Responsa Rav Moshe Feinstein Translation |isbn=0881254444 |last1=Feinstein |first1=Moses |year=1996 }}</ref>
== "Explosives in his writings" ==
On Israeli Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]]'s trip to the United States in 1977, he visited Rabbi Feinstein in his apartment in New York. Also present at the meeting were Rabbis [[Yitzchak Hutner]] and [[Yaakov Kamenetsky]], also senior Haredi rabbis in the United States. Prior to Begin's arrival at the meeting, his security agents combed Rabbi Feinstein's apartment, searching for  weapons or explosives that may have been planted there to harm the prime minister. Upon seeing this, Rabbi Hutner wittily remarked that if they were searching for explosives, they would "only find them in the writings of our host!" He was referring to the creative and novel ideas and decisions (''[[chidush]]im'') - which are sometimes referred to as bombs - that Rabbi Feinstein had penned in ''Igros Moshe''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bamberger |first1=Rabbi Moshe |title=Great Jewish Photographs |date=June 2019 |publisher=[[Artscroll|Artscroll Mesorah Publications, ltd.]] |location=Brooklyn, NY |isbn=978-1-4226-2314-5 |page=202}}</ref><ref name=Rebmoshe/>
== Depth ==
On the tenth ''[[yahrtzeit]]'' (anniversary of death) of Rabbi Feinstein, the ''[[mashgiach ruchani]]'' of [[Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem]], Rabbi Chaim Ganzweig,<ref>{{cite web |title=YIQV and MTJ: More than 40 Years of Support |url=https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/26-community-corner/518-yiqv-and-mtj-more-than-40-years-of-support |website=queensjewishlink.com |access-date=1 August 2021 |date=May 22, 2019 |quote=In the place of Rav Reuven Feinstein, the drashah was given by Rabbi Chaim Ganzweig, mashgiach ruchani at MTJ.}}</ref> wrote the following in [[The Jewish Observer]]:<ref name=Rebmoshe>{{cite book |last1=Finkelman |first1=Rabbi Shimon |last2=Scherman |first2=Rabbi Nosson |author2-link=Nosson Scherman |title=Reb Moshe - Expanded 25th Yahrtzeit Edition |date=February 2011 |publisher=[[Artscroll|Mesorah Publication, Ltd.]] |location=Brooklyn, NY |isbn=978-1-4226-1084-8 |edition=Revised and expanded}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Every halachic decision of the [[Rosh Yeshiva]] [Rabbi Feinstein],<ref>In addition to being an acclaimed ''posek'', Rabbi Feinstein served as [[rosh yeshiva]] ([[yeshiva]] dean) of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem.</ref> regardless of how seemingly simple or instantly rendered, was deeply rooted in ''sugyos haShas'' (the discussions recorded in the [[Talmud]]). There was no superficiality in his decisions. They were based on a deep awareness and understanding of all relevant Talmudic discussions and their ramifications. He did not rely on "this opinion" or "that decision," nor did he automatically follow precedent; rather, the decision was the result of toil in, and depth of understanding of, the relevant Talmudic discussions at the source, following through the classic codes and the views of the great ''poskim''.}}
== Counter work ==
A certain individual wrote a work with the intention of refuting ''Igros Moshe''. In the book, he listed his arguments on Rabbi Feinstein and even did so an insulting matter. To have his work published, he brought his manuscript to the same print shop that the ''Igros Moshe'' had been printed in. Although the printer, who was Jewish and an admirer of Rabbi Feinstein, did not want to print it, the rabbi instructed him to do so, telling him that printing is his form of income and that he was doing a ''[[chesed]]'' (kindness) to the writer by helping him achieve his goals.<ref name=Rebmoshe/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ohayun |first1=Rabbi Avraham |title=The Light from America and other stories |date=2019 |publisher=Israel Bookshop Publications |location=[[Lakewood Township, New Jersey|Lakewood, NJ]] |isbn=978-1-60091-705-9 |page=24}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[List of rulings by Moshe Feinstein]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Sifrei Kodesh]]
[[Category:Rabbinic legal texts and responsa]]
[[Category:Hebrew-language religious books]]
[[Category:Moshe Feinstein]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]