Friday, November 26, 2010

Rabbis who insist that their students are subordinate forever

Daas Trah page 202

Maharik (12:62):
There are some rabbis who want to dominate their students more than is appropriate and they assert that whoever has been a student even as a child is forever subordinate to them and can never disagree with them in any issue. They claim that this is true even if the student has become their equal or even their superior in learning because they assert that the main factor is where the relationship started not where it is now. They furthermore assert that even if the rabbi has clearly erred or behaves incorrectly, that disagreeing with the rabbi is the same as contradicting G-d and other such claims. The answer to this is that even if the student is forever subordinate to his teacher as these rabbis assert, nevertheless is quite obvious that that is only in relationship to honoring him by standing up for him or ripping his garment irreversibly in mourning for him. However, concerning matters of Heaven e.g., he saw his teacher err in Halacha which is a chilul HaShem - there is no requirement to honor his teacher. This can readily be seen in the many examples in the gemora such as the events with Rabban Gamliel (Berachos 26b)…

1 comment :

  1. http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/fresh_scrutiny_claims_conference_allocations

    http://www.jwire.com.au/featured-articles/claims-conference-fraud-apologise/12973

    Julie Berman is the Chairman of YU and the head of the Claims Conference which distributes German payments to Holocaust survivors.

    After a half dozen major profile frauds that looted the payment fund to survivors, the two current ones uncovered by the FBI in the sum of $60 million and counting, there is a growing chorus for Berman to resign.

    What is Berman's reaction to all this? What? Me resign? No, I'm hiring a pricey public relations firm to protect me, paid for with funds supposed to go the sheairis hapleita.

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