October 16, 2025

Unpacking the Iggerot: Deleting the Divine

There is a fairly self-understood principle in halakha that it is forbidden to erase the Holy Name of God. What then are the implications for recordings found on our phones and laptops? With this new season on “Unpacking the Iggerot” Moshe Kurtz shows us how R. Moshe Feinstein addressed questions that emerged with new technologies.
September 18, 2025

Unpacking the Iggerot: Mehitza

From Sioux City to Memphis, New York to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, synagogues faced an internal debate about separate seating for men and women and the partitions between them. Many of them turned to none other than R. Moshe Feinstein. Moshe Kurtz lays out the halakhic debate, societal factors, and reception by one of the Iggerot Moshe’s most ardent interlocutors: The Satmar Rav.
September 4, 2025

Unpacking the Iggerot: Artificial Insemination

In 1959, R. Moshe Feinstein issued what was among his most significant and controversial rulings: Permitting a woman to undergo artificial insemination. In this week’s “Unpacking the Iggerot” Moshe Kurtz examines the halakhic and social ramifications, as well as the rocky reception to this landmark ruling.
June 19, 2025

Unpacking the Iggerot: One Daf to Rule Them All

Can one make a siyyum on a single page from the Talmud? In our final installment of this season’s “Unpacking the Iggerot,” Moshe Kurtz analyzes R. Moshe Feinstein’s remarkably flexible approach to what can qualify for such a celebration and the values that informed his noteworthy responsum.