Abstract
The emergence of the modern State of Israel was linked with a question about delimitation of jurisdiction, hierarchy, and level of interconnection between secular law and halakha. The leaders of various streams of Jewry held different positions about that issue.
However, as the founder and first Chief Rabbi of the Military Rabbinate, Shlomo Goren had an exceptionally strong influence on establishing the role of halakha in the armed forces of Israel. The key problem, which he had to face in the field of the Laws of War, was a conflict with international law.
Goren's goal was to bring the religious and secular worlds in harmony with each other, while simultaneously demonstrating the unlimited jurisdiction of halakha. Innovative nature of reasoning in his rulings, criticized by many, still raises questions about the source of his motivation.