Reply To: Ladies First – Is it respectful or not?

Joseph, I really had thought that I had made it clear (but if I didn’t, I apologize) that Rav Bodner told me that the decisive factor in the psak was the survey. That’s the way the psak was published in the Lakewood publications at the time, AND when I was teaching the topic shortly afterwards and called him to ask him about it, that is also what he told me. I was also very surprised at the idea that a psak halacha about eating habits would be based on what goyim do. That is why I asked him about it.

I don’t know what most other poskim say, and I don’t know if it’s typical or not. I do know that in this case, there were some Rabbanim who did posken based on what goyim do. This does prove my point that we do care to some extent about the common culture and it does affect halacha at least in some cases.