I just received the following comment to a recent post that included:
I remember going to visit Rav Bulman at Ohr Someach where he served as Mashgiach. He quickly grasped what I was doing even before I did. He said, ”You are showing that there is a range of legitimate Jewish views. But since the official view is that there is only one correct view, you will never get away with it. I want to buy the first copy. Do you understand I don’t want a copy as a gift, I want to buy it."
The above is very important but I would like to get your thoughts (especially as a psychologist) on whether this could also shake a person's sense of stability. Seeing that basing everything is open to question and different opinions sort of pulls out the rug from under the person's feet (at least for some people). Basically, the answer to most questions of basic hashkafa is "we don't know." That's the truth, but it can be unsettling.
I replied
true. But that applies to most things in life
Even getting married or child rearing or politics has no simplistic answers
JEWISH THOUGHT AS A SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY
Just want to add - I went to speak with Rav Eliyahiv concerning this exact issue.
He first asked whether my sources were all acceptable main stream ones. Which I assured him that was all I used. He said simply, do not censor material just because they seem to contradict each other. If a person is confused that is why he has a rebbe. Let him go to discuss this with his rebbe.
But I believe the issues in our society stem from each Rebbe having their shitos and hashkafos and everyone thinking this is THE derech, Daas Torah. People did rely on their rabbeim. So it does get confusing having different hashkafos, Torah outlooks and realities.
ReplyDeleteInsecurity causes intolerance of alternative views.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, if God is just as happy with my walking around on a hot Shabbos day wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and a light coloured hat, how do you justify to yourself wearing a huge fur hat, a thick woolen lapsidekel, a black vest and thick black coat?
Short sleeves, you cannot be a shaliach tzibbur .
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, a black suit and hat warrants bedding at least 32 women via a dating site.
Wow! What bitterness!
ReplyDeleteThe question is, whether in the bnei brak / meah shearim worlds, is a mizrochi who wears short sleeves and regular clothing considered worse than a chaver, who has temporarily lapsed due to his yetzer hara?
ReplyDeleteOne brisk / ponovezh rav I met made a remarkable statement. A Hareidi who does aveiros, just has to Daven al cheit and it is cleared. A mizrochi, on the other hand, his sins are simply unforgivable.
First of all, bitterness is my bailiwick. I'll thank y'all for keeping clear of it.
ReplyDeleteSecond, KH makes an important point - the externals and the routines become the religion and the actual religion gets ignored or dumped.
We saw this repeatedly during CoVID - people insisting on ignoring the rules on isolating because they wanted to daven with a minyan, for example. For too many people, how you dress and the hechsher you demand on your meat is the starting and ending point of their Torah observance.
Who besides you knows and can judge what the actual religion is ? On what basis?
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteWhen is your Shulchan Aruch or Mishna Torah coming out?
I have not made any revolutionary statement, I just quoted what someone else told me. Is that view in any of the Codes you mentioned?
ReplyDelete