Daniel Eidensohn, on his Daas Torah blog, writes approvingly about the Chareidi attitude towards "gedolim":
"A gadol is someone whose authority transcends his footnotes. He is a rabbi that we accept what he says - because he said it – not because of the sources and reasoning he marshals to buttress his arguments."There you have it, folks. Despite the wailing of Chareidi Jewry about the supremacy of Torah wisdom and the towering intellect of their leaders, we see that it is not about "sources and reasoning." It is about subjugating one's own mind and reasoning to the opinion of a gadol.
In fact, Eidensohn claims that a true gadol needs only cite his own opinion. There is no need for logic, proof or evidence to support a gadol's assertion. Indeed, Eidensohn derides his interlocutor (one "RAP") for doing just this:
"He invariably does not cite any sources – other than his own opinion. And yet he expects the rest of us to accept what he says because he says it. He is acting as if he were a gadol – but none of us accept him as such."
At the end of the day, the Chareidi position is mind numbingly circular: The gadol is a gadol ... because he is a gadol. And why must he be followed? Because he is a gadol.My head hurts.
J.D.
|