[Avodah] Questions as a Result of the Flatbush Lakewood Shabbos

[Prof. Levine]

At 10:29 AM 12/8/2008, Cantor Wolberg wrote:
>P.S. I must say that I was embarrassed to see a R"Y criticized publicly.

I do not view what I wrote as a personal criticism of the RY. I had
questions about what he (did not) say and about what he did, not his
integrity, midos, gadlus in Torah, etc. There is a big difference in my
mind. For example, you might say, "Levine, what you wrote is stupid!" That
is a far cry from saying, "Levine, you are stupid."

You seem to feel that one is not allowed to question anything that a
RY does. I really do not understand why not. Can't one learn from the
explanation? And, might it not be possible that the RY would reevaluate
his position on something? No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. We
all change as we go through life, even the greatest of men.

BTW, I was careful not to name which RY from Lakewood it was.

[Email #2. -mi]

At 04:59 PM 12/8/2008, T613K at aol.com wrote:
>From: "Prof. Levine" <mailto:llevine at stevens.edu>llevine at stevens.edu
>> Does not the fact that the Torah makes no mention of Yaakov learning
>> in yeshiva telling? If these years were more important, then I would
>> have expected the Torah to mention Yaakov's learning explicitly. I am
>> sure there is an answer, but I do not know it.

>The question you raise is legitimate and interesting -- why doesn't 
>the Torah mention the years that Yaakov spent learning?   Indeed, 
>why doesn't the Torah mention the Yeshiva of Shem v'Ever anywhere? 
>I'm sure there are good answers that could be discussed on 
>Avodah.   However, the inference you seem to be drawing -- that the 
>Torah does not consider Torah learning to be important -- is 
>certainly not warranted.

I am not inferring that Torah learning is not important!!!!!!! Without
Torah learning there will be no Yiddishkeit. It is yeshiva education that
is responsible for the Orthodoxy we see today. There were many sincere
Jews who came to America in the 18th, 19th and first part of the 20th
centuries. Most of their children went lost because they did not have
a decent Jewish education.

What I was inferring in what I wrote and what I thought I made clear is
that for almost everyone there is a time to learn and a time to work and
learn. Both times in a person's life have the same "validity." A person who
leaves Kollel to go to work to support his family should not be considered
a second class citizen.

[Email #3. -mi]

At 04:11 PM 12/8/2008, Micha Berger wrote:
>I think it's a little difficult to take a raayah from RSRH or from RYS
>and ask a question on a rav from a different derekh.

>It's one thing for me to say that I find myself more moved to "hihaleikh
>lefanai veheyei samim" by RYS's derekh. Or that I find it easier to pursue
>qedushah by learning how to utilize chol than through trying to minimize
>contact with it (an understanding of perishus or at least histapkus).
>It's another to ask a qyestion on someone else.

>Of course they behave differently -- they're taking a different path up
>the mountain.

I would like to make a couple of points, since I started this entire
business.

1. I do not view what I wrote as a personal criticism of the RY. I had
questions about what he (did not) say and about what he did, not his
integrity, midos, gadlus in Torah, etc. There is a big difference in my
mind. For example, you might say, "Levine, what you wrote is stupid!" That
is a far cry from saying, "Levine, you are stupid."

2. Some seem to feel that one is not allowed to question anything that
a RY does. I really do not understand why not. Can't one learn from the
explanation? And, might it not be possible that the RY would reevaluate
his position on something? No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. We
all change as we go through life, even the greatest of men.

3. My use of RYS is not in my view the taking of "a raayah from RSRH or
from RYS and ask(ing) a question on a rav from a different derekh." As
I understand it there are two aspects to Yahadus, bein odom l'makom and
bein odom l'chaveiro. How am I to understand davening what seemed to be
a very long SA and keeping many people waiting much longer than usual
with bein odom l'chaveiro? RYS simply provides "substance" to my question.

KT,
YL