[Avodah] Intuition - sources

[Daniel Eidensohn]

R' Micha Berger wrote:
> I'm talking about the sort of reasoning used to reach a pesaq,
> regardless of whether the din is in hilkhos Shabbos.
>
> We usually think of pesaq in terms of logical argument -- given that
> X, Y and Z, we can conclude the din should be...
>
> I am suggesting that often pesaq is so tied to gefil that the logical
> argument comes after.
>
>   
One talmid chocham who was very close to Rav Moshe Feinstein told me 
concerning the disagreement between Rav Moshe and the Tzitz Eliezar on 
abortion. "Rav Moshe knew that abortion is murder. Anyone living in the 
Torah atmosphere that he had would simply know that it was murder. The 
textual proof was only to support that which he knew already. In 
contrast the Tzitz Eliezar started with the text and by logical 
reasoning tried to determine whether abortion was murder. Thus he got 
upset when Rav Moshe changed the text of Tosfos in two places in order 
"prove" that abortion is murder. The Tzitz Eliezar got upset and said 
that is not an acceptable approach to Torah learning."

Similarly concerning artificial insemination, Satmar argued that even 
the Catholic bishop knew that it was disgusting and therefore it was 
obviously prohibited. In response Rav Moshe (E.H. 11 page 322): "I thank 
G-d am not from them and not from the masses. All of my hashkofa is only 
from my knowledge of Torah without any contamination from external 
ideas. The Torah's  judgments are true whether they are harsh or 
lenient. The ideas from alien hashkofa or those which spontaneously 
appear in a man's heart are all of no significance - even if they are to 
be conservative and strict. It is simply a false illusion to view these 
alien ideas as being more pure and holy..."

In addition this idea of Torah trained intuition also seems to be  R' 
Elchonon Wasserman's understanding of Daas Torah

*Rav Elchonon Wasserman**[i]* <#_edn1>*(Kovetz Mamarim): *All of us have 
Daas Torah (Torah minds) to a certain degree. Some have perhaps 50%, 
others 15% and the rest of the person’s mind is not Daas Torah but 
perhaps a business mind or his wife’s or children’s opinion or some 
other type of understanding… Daas Torah of 100% is only found amongst 
gedolei Torah who have cast off the transient vanities of this world and 
are loyal only to the Torah perspective.


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[i] <#_ednref1> *קובץ מאמרים* (תש''ס עמוד ק''כ) לכל אחד מאתנו יש דעת 
תורה. אבל באחוזים. יש שאחד זכה בחמשים אחוז, משנהו בשבעים וחמשה, והשלישי 
בחמשה עשר אחוז, אולם האחוזים הנותרים אצל כל אחד ואחד הם לא מדעת תורה, כי 
אם דעות אחרות, דעת פרנסה, דעת מסחר, דעת אשתו ובניו וכיוצא. דעת תורה במאה 
אחוז אפשר למצוא רק אצל גדולי הדור, שפרקו מעליהם כל הבלי העולם והתמכרו אך 
ורק לדעת תורה, ...