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.

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.

May observant Jews call their children by non-Jewish names? What even is the proper delineation between a Jewish and a non-Jewish name? Moshe Kurtz explores how R. Moshe Feinstein’s approach to these questions gets at the heart of how he understood the definition of Jewish identity.

In our sequel to the Manhattan eruvin controversy, Moshe Kurtz explores the battle for Brooklyn eruvin, with a particular focus on the fraught exchange between Rabbis Moshe Feinstein and Menashe Klein. He also explores to what degree poskim were willing to incorporate societal factors into their otherwise technical halakhic debate.