Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Heretic: Denies the Mishna Berura and other major seforim were written with ruach hakodesh

from Daas Torah - translation copyrighted

Rav Menashe Klein (7:160): A shochet who wants to pasken like the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch in all matters and not like the Mishna Berura… I don’t understand what you are asking. Do you mean that he is being disrespectful of the Mishne Berura or you mean that he comes form a place that relies on the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch even against the Mishne Berura and he is simply following the custom of his community? The distinction between these two is simple. If he is being disrespectful then he is in the category of one who doesn’t believe in the words of our Sages in every generation and he doesn’t believe that contemporary gedolim merit ruach hakodesh. It is obvious that someone who lacks ruach hakodesh is not able to composes a holy work such as the Mishne Berura. If he doesn’t believe that the Mishne Berura was written with ruach hakodesh then he is an apikorus and denier of G﷓d’s Torah…Look at Divrei Chaim (Y.D. 2:105) concerning a teacher who insulted the honor of the Ohr HaChaim and said that the sefer wasn’t written with ruach hakodesh. After much discussion he concludes, “That in truth even in our days there are true sages who are not influenced by earthly matters and they have ruach hakodesh as we see stated explicitly in the Moreh Nevuchim and Ramban. Therefore not only did the Ohr HaChaim clearly compose his sefer with ruach hakodesh but all authors even in our generation if they are worthy of it compose their works with ruach hakodesh. That means that their wisdom and understanding is in agreement wth the Truth of the Torah. This is mentioned in the gemora with Rabbi Eliezar. It is also stated as a practical halachic ruling in Takfo Cohen (C.M. 25:123-124) where he says that one can not say “kim li” (use a minority opinion) against the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch because all of its rulings were written with ruach hakodesh. Therefore a teacher who denies the ruach hakodesh of the Ohr HaChaim is an apikorus because he doesn’t believe the gedolim who testified on the Ohr HaChaim that he was deserving of ruach hakodesh. Thus this teacher is a denier in the principle of ruach hakodesh and ridicules the words of the Talmud mentioned before and it is good that you did not leave your sons in his hands. “ See these words which are like firery coals. Therefore concerning this shochet, I say that if he doesn’t believe that the words of the Mishna Berura were composed with ruach hakodesh and therefore are in agreement with the truth of the Torah – he is a heretic and denier of the foundations of our faith. It is not only this shochet but all schochtim who do not believe in this their shechita is unkosher. (Unfortunately due to our many sins there are many teachers in our time that do not believe that even in our generation that there are contemporary gedolim who have ruach hakodesh and are able to ascertain and be in agreement with their wisdom to the truth of the Torah. See Orchos Tzadikim (Shaar HaTorah) where he writes that a person who studies Torah for pure motivation merits that his two kidneys are made into two fountains. And he produces new insights into Torah that were never heard before. A person who does not believe this is unquestionably an apikorus and denier. If he teaches others then they also will be drawn after him – due to our many sins.).

4 comments :

  1. Would Rav Klein also say that the Aruch HaShulchan was written with Ruach HaKodesh? If so, how can the Mishna Berurah and Aruch HaShulchan diagree?

    A better question: There are places where the Mishna Berurah contradicts itself. How is the possible unless it were written with Ruach HaKodesh? (I heard in a shiur that the Chofetz Chayim's sons-in-law contributed to the writing and editing of the Mishna Berurah. So, any contradictions aren't the "fault" of the Chofetz Chayim - chas v'sholom - but rather due to different sections being written by different people.)

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  2. Correction to my earlier posting. In the second paragraph, the sentence should say "How is the possible if it were written with Ruach HaKodesh?

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  3. Vilna gaon and r Hayyim Volozhiner banned the writings of the Alter rebbe. So according to R Klein does that make the Gra a heretic?

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  4. He wants to have his cake and eat it, and not say Al hamichiah

    He's on the one hand saying that not a single word of the shulchan aruch can be supplanted. Yet the mishnah brurah must be doing that, otherwise it's just a repetion or copy of the SA. then he's calling someone a heretic who sticks to the SA. IN any case rav Henkin and rav Moshe would rely on the Aruch haahulchan, not the MB. so. The discussion is just a red herring, and fallacious.

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