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<DIV>In Avodah Digest, Vol 25, Issue 124 dated 4/4/2008 "Stadlan, Noam"
<nstadlan@cinn.org><BR>writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2><BR>>>If a posek decides that the motivation of a shoel is wrong,
he can decide<BR>all the halachic issues to the side of denying the shoel
permission to do<BR>the act. .... Rav Gil Student, in
his<BR>review of Rav Herschel Schachter's view's on WTG basically admits that
RHS<BR>consistently rules l'chumra on all the issues precisely because RHS
was<BR>against the WTG. The rulings on the halachic issues were a result
of a<BR>prior decision regarding the WTG, not the other way around. To
quote Rav<BR>Gil, in his intro to RHS's position:<BR><BR>"When a question is
posed before a posek, there are a whole host of<BR>considerations for him to
take into account. This is particularly true when<BR>the underlying issues are
subject to dispute and can go either way. The<BR>posek, then, has the right to
rule according to whichever opinions he<BR>believes to be appropriate. If a
posek believes that the contemporary<BR>context requires stringency then he
may certainly rule strictly on any<BR>questionable matter....."
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2><BR>....In other words, RHS decided that WTG was wrong, and ruled
accordingly on the<BR>halachic issues in question....<<<BR>
<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV>This is a pretty good description of how da'as Torah works, if anyone is
still wondering about the definition of that term. The "personal" opinions
of a big talmid chacham are never just personal, and tend to gain wide
acceptance among those who respect him and who accept his authority. Some
of those who move in YU circles seem to be allergic to the very idea of "da'as
Torah" but whether they use the term or not, that's what they're following when
they accede to the psak of a Torah scholar whom they respect and whose wisdom
they acknowledge to be greater than their own.</DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><STRONG></STRONG><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============<BR></B><BR></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and advice on <A title="http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolcmp00300000002850" href="http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolcmp00300000002850" target="_blank">AOL Money & Finance</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>