[Avodah] (long!) Find Yourself a Rabbi and Treat Every Rabbi With Respect - A possible introduction and guide to Avodah/Areivim

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

There has been much discussion over the years on Avodah/Areivim
surrounding the question of different views; different rabbis; many of
the discourses were not actually around a specific topic, but about the
validity of a different view.

I read the following article with great interest. It is indeed long. But
it is worthwhile. Personally, I would love this article to be part of
an introductory package every new member of Avodah/Areivim would receive.
I think it embodies the main point of Avodah/Areivim and gives guidelines
to respectful converse, which is at the basis of this wonderful group.

Shanna Tova.

Shoshana L. Boublil


Rabbi Shlomo Aviner - Chief Rabbi of Beit El 
"Find Yourself a Rabbi and Treat Every Rabbi With Respect" 

Question: I am confused. There are so many rabbis, with so many
worldviews. How shall I know who to listen to? Why don't they all unite
and form some sort of Sanhedrin? Why don't all the rabbis line up behind
the great luminaries of the generation?

Answer: You have asked a very painful question. First of all, as far as
the Sanhedrin, our master Rabbi Kook already wrote that for a Sanhedrin
you need world-class scholars on a level that does not exist today
(Igarot HaRe'iyah I:341). If it was such in his generation, all the more
so in our own impoverished generation. Even so, he worked devotedly
to found a preparation for the Sanhedrin (ibid., II:59-60), namely,
the Chief Rabbinate of Israel (Ma'amarei HaRe'iyah 455). So if it is
rabbinic unity you want, please strengthen the honor and stature of the
Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Just don't say that it isn't exactly your cup
of tea. If someone says, "I am in favor of rabbinic unity but only on
condition that it be similar to me," he does not understand what unity is
(see Rosh Hashanah 25b). Indeed, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is the way
to rabbinic unity, yet we must dispel all illusions: The day the rabbis
will reach agreement will not be today or tomorrow.

Indeed, in the absence of a Sanhedrin, we have to follow the gedolim,
the great luminaries of the generation. As Sefer HaChinuch said, the
great rabbis of the generation take the place of the Sanhedrin (Mitzvah
455). Tosafot wrote the same thing about the status of the world's most
outstanding Torah scholar (Tosafot Bava Kamma 41b).

Yet who shall decide who is the most outstanding Torah scholar of the
generation? If you ask a chassid he will tell you that it is his rebbe. If
you ask a Litvak he will mention one great halachic authority. If you
ask a National Religious Jew, he will mention still another illustrious
figure. A Breslov chassid will mention Rabbi Nachman and a Chabad chasid
will mention the last Rebbe. And they are all right. All these rabbis
are gedolim. "All of them are beloved, all of them are pure, all of
them are mighty. They all perform with awe and reverence the will of
their Creator. They all open their mouth with holiness and purity"
(morning prayers), even if they do not agree amongst themselves. Yet
there is a corridor that leads to the banquet hall. We shall reach the
"banquet hall" when all the rabbis are in agreement, and the "corridor"
consists of each rabbi holding to his own view but showing respect for
others. Without the corridor, we shall never reach the banquet hall.

Therefore, as long as we are in the "corridor" period, and we do not know
how long that will last, each person must find himself a rabbi and follow
him. Yet one must also respect all rabbis, and respect everyone who has
found himself a different rabbi. One mustn't force his own outlook or
reject the alternatives. If one has a rabbi, one should follow him. One
shouldn't have any fear, even if he is one is an individual against many.

Consider what the Talmud tells us, that in the town of Rav Yehuda
HaGelili they would cook and eat milk and meat together, and that in
the town of Rabbi Eliezer they would chop down trees on the Sabbath to
prepare a knife for circumcision (Shabbat 130a). All of this occurred many
years after both sages passed away, but the people of their towns were
considered their disciples, for one's town rabbi has the same halachic
classification as one's "rav muvhak" [the rabbi one has learned the most
from] (see Chazon Ish Yoreh Deah 150:5). Rashba wrote that we follow
our town rabbi even if he is one against many (Responsa Rashba I:253;
Choshen Mishpat 25:2 in Rama). Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik wrote
that in every generation there were always Torah greats who had different
outlooks and paths to serving G-d, such as Rav Gidel and Rabbi Yochanan
(Berachot 20a). Both had unique paths to serving G-d, and they stood
their ground (Divrei Hashkafah 235-240).

Rav Tzvi Shechter wrote that the Talmud explains (Yevamot 14) that
when a sage differs with his contemporaries, even when he is greatly
outnumbered, he and his disciples must continue rendering decisions
and conducting themselves in according with his view. The rule that we
follow the majority (Exodus 23:2) applies to the rest of the people who
are not his students. He also wrote that every Torah scholar who becomes
a halachic authority must always express his own view, however he has
come to understand the truth of the law (Nefesh HaRav 60-62).

Rav Shechter (Nefesh HaRav, page 62) quotes from the Vilna Gaon (as it
appeared in Rav Chaim Volozhin's sefer "Chut HaMeshulash" at the end
of Siman 9) that if a rabbi comes to a conclusion that goes against the
Shulchan Aruch, and rules according to the Shulchan Aruch, he violates,
"Do not give anyone special consideration when rendering judgment"
(Deuteronomy 1:17)

Even a disciple, if he does not think like his rabbi, is forbidden
to remain silent, in accordance with, "Keep away from anything false"
(Exodus 23:7) (Shavuot 31a). It is also in keeping with, "Fear no man"
(Deuteronomy 1:17); and with the words of Rabbi Chanin, who said, "Do
not repress yourself before any man" (Sanhedrin 1:6). For this reason,
when arguments are being presented in the Sanhedrin, they begin with
the least learned scholar (Sanhedrin 32a), lest that scholar not dare
to express himself after one greater than he has spoken, and thereby
violate "Fear no man" (Sanhedrin 36a; see the debate between Nimukei
Yosef and Tosafot). According to Torah law, no one may be shown special
consideration. A disciple must pursue truth, even if he is attacked as
a result.

The rule is this: Once a Torah scholar recognizes his lowliness and
unworthiness, all the same, if he follows a special path that derives
from his having delved into Torah sources, he is not allowed to nullify
his opinion. In fact, he is forbidden to. There are seventy approaches to
the Torah, and his own opinion is part of that, following a holy path. He
should therefore long to have everyone follow his way. That is his
obligation. Find yourself a rabbi, but let others follow their own rabbis.