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<DIV>I need to clear up something confusing in Avodah Digest, Vol 25, Issue 147,
which happened through no fault of my own. In the table of contents you
have this item: </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>==begin quote==</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Today's Topics:<BR><BR> 1. Re: Daas Torah (<A
href="mailto:T613K@aol.com">T613K@aol.com</A>)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>==end quote==</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This leads the reader to expect the first item to be a post by me.
However, that item was not written by me, but by R' Rich
Wolpoe. Below is the correct sequence, as it should have appeared.
</DIV>
<DIV>--TK</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The corrected sequence should read:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>RRW: >>Example: I was taught in junior high that vinegar is
Acetic Acid AND that <BR>aspirin is made from acetic acid and salicylic
acid. On that basis I used to <BR>assum that aspirin was a product
of hametz! But I was corrected by <BR>practical chemists
and pharmacists who explained that using grain vinegar was <BR>prohibitive
in the manufacture of aspirin! So a little learning can be dangerous
<BR>and misleading.<<<BR><BR>TK: >>For that reason, one
should not consult a rav who only has a little <BR>learning. <BR><BR>Also
one should not consult a posek who is still in junior high
school.<<<BR><BR>RRW then responded with the following long post -- ALL of
which was written by him, including the subdivisions marked off with double
lines: </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That's not my point<BR>My point is one should not consult any Rav in
any area in which he is not <BR>expert even if he is k'ven shiv'im
shana ....<BR>UNLESS<BR>That Rav will himself be wiling to
consult experts.<BR><BR>So my point is that Da'as Torah is really quite
limited to the sphere of <BR>Torah itself and only to the areas in which
that Rav knows what he is talking <BR>about!<BR><BR>OTOH, it is often a
good idea to consult a Rav for his insight
anyway.<BR><BR>=====================================================================<BR><BR>Maa'seh
shehaya #1:<BR><BR>A frum Jew drowned off the GW Bridge. <BR>Police Ruled it
a suicide.<BR>The fellow involved was somewhat involved with the mob<BR>I
was talking to a "Gadol BaTorah" and he discussed the fellow's suicide as
<BR>a fact.<BR>I corrected that Gadol and said that we cannot be sure and
that al pi <BR>halacha we MUST give him the benefit of the doubt!
The Gadol concurred with my <BR>hochachah<BR><BR>What I did NOT tell that
Gadol was that the fellow had a mob connection for <BR>obvious reasons of
LH etc. Anyone aware of that connexion would realize that <BR>a
suicide is not ALWAYS a suicide and that the fellow may have been
either<BR> 1. murdered in a way to APPEAR as a
suicide <BR> 2. OR he was told to jump off the bridge
at the point of a gun or <BR>similar coercion [like hurting the
family]<BR><BR>Point? That Rav was probably not so aware of how the mob
works. I won't go <BR>into how I know but suffice it to say that I am more
worldly. <BR><BR>Given a realistic probabilty that said suicide was never
a suicide we <BR>generally give the niftar the benefit of the doubt, and
the Gadol would probably <BR>concur. Just that he could not fathom WHY it
was a feasible reality IOW what's <BR>the safeik? The police and the M/E
ruled it a suicide! But I had exposure to <BR>entire sets of facts
that this Gadol
Lacked.<BR><BR>==================================================================<BR><BR>M'aseh
#2. A Rav with Semicha - but not practicing - was lecturing that we
<BR>cannot consider the case of a woman who is to shy to ask sh'eilos
about <BR>taharas hamishpacha. He was talking BOOK LEARNING. I have
heard anecdotal <BR>evidence hat there are many sizable communities in
which the one-Rav town gets a <BR>VERY low number of queries.
POINT? Despite this Rav's intentions to uphold <BR>book
halacha the reality on the ground is that women ask in far fewer numbers
<BR>than would normally be expected. They don't print those
sociological stats <BR>in the Mishnah Brurah! But Rabbonim in the
know - know what they are up <BR>against.<BR><BR>Therefore, Da'as Torah of
the ivory tower nature can be downright misleading<BR><BR>OTOH a very dear
friend had a shidduch prolbem ironed out by Hassidc Rebbe <BR>about 25
years ago in Boro Park, Rebbes are often well-trained and
<BR>well-versed in personal and family issues. They not only know halacha
but a lot about <BR>family dynamics and human nature. Their "da'as" can be
very effective, far <BR>more than any assimilated social worker would have
been. However, how much of <BR>that is pure Torah and how much of that is
plain "seichel" coupled with years <BR>of intense experience<BR><BR>Torah,
sechel and experience = da'as Torah<BR><BR>I don't know. as far as
Siyyatta Dishmaya goes, Rabbonim do not have a <BR>monopoly. Doctors have
it, too. Ever watch House? He is a Kofeir who gets Siyyata
<BR>dishmaya!
<BR><BR>=====================================================================<BR><BR>Da'as
Torah to me is a function of using good judgment on gray areas.
<BR>Illustration: equating Electricity to fire [or not] is the kind of
halachic <BR>judgment a Poseik would do better than an engineer or
physicist - because it is not <BR>a function of what happens on the
molecular level but on the visible Halachic <BR>level.<BR><BR>-- <BR>Kol Tuv /
Best Regards,<BR>RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com<BR>see:
_http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/_ (http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/)
<BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
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