[Avodah] Maharat

[Ben Waxman via Avodah]

On 6/7/2017 3:50 AM, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
 > All the while, a cloud hung over me, for going against his p'sak. I
 > will not attempt to describe how much guilt I felt over this. But I
 > *will* tell you that a year or two later, I traded that guilt for
 > disillusionment, when I learned that although we called him "Rabbi
 > Ploni", he was not a rabbi at all, never having received semicha.
 >
 > Perhaps I'm an extreme example, but that simply means that similar
 > things happen to other people too, just not to such an extreme extent.

I would agree that this is an extreme example. I don't know you so I 
can't say anything about you in particular (not that I would anyway, not 
on a forum) but I would expect a yeshiva guy who had been learning with 
a teacher/rav for a year to take the teacher/rav's words much more 
seriously than the average ba'al habayit. The first thing a ba'al 
habayit would do is say "Well, I went to him for advice, not psak, so I 
don't have to listen to him".

 >I think it safe to say that no one takes semikha at face value
 >as authority to pasken difficult halakhic questions on matters
 > of grave import.

I don't know what constitutes grave import - an abortion? learning 
Biblical Criticism? Marrying someone of questionable yichus? Whether or 
not a particular business maneuver constitutes fraud in the eyes of 
halacha (or if it isn't but is illegal)? Accepting charity from 
criminals?  Would the average MO Jew speak a rav and get his psak on 
these issues? Or do people limit themselves to strict Orach Chayim 
issues like eating on Yom Kippur? Are there issues that people will do 
whatever the rabbi says and ignore what he has to say about other things 
(obviously people ignore what rabbis have to say about a lot of issues, 
but I mean a straight psak)?