A responsum and an unwarranted universal claim

A fictional ethics seminar presents a modern responsum addressing a specific question. The packet identifies its author, interpretive tradition, supporting sources and the particular facts considered. A second source records a different conclusion from another authority. One learner deletes the attribution and reports the first answer as what every Jewish person must believe. Another assumes that disagreement means neither argument can be examined or compared. The exercise does not ask students to issue a real religious legal ruling or advise a person facing an actual urgent decision. Students must explain how the arguments use sources, identify the limits of their authority claims and compare their reasoning without erasing genuine disagreement or treating every interpretation as identical.