What we need: some intellectual honesty coupled with outward perspective

We need intelligent, articulators of Toras HaShem across the board. No politics, no Chumros, no fancy hanhogos. Torah Lishmo. For every Shiur in Nistar (Kaballa which is not the same as Chassidus) there must be a Shiur in Torah, Nach, Meforshim, Shas, Halacha in a digestible way. The greatness of the wisdom and enternal truth of Torah must be exposed. Too many of our youth and middle-aged people keep a link to the past which is not based on Tachlis or based on consistent learning from Rabonim. A Shiurm/Sermon in  Shule or a Temple needs to be given by those trained; not academics in areas where they are bordering on ignorant and lacking the basic Tennet of Judaism—Emunah P’Shuta and Bittul HaYesh.

Each week in a Shule I go to, we have a ‘game’ where we try to spot the Chumra of the week from a well known shtiebel in Melbourne. I get upset. Others find it comical. The Rav is a big Talmid Chacham. Recently he discussed Memareach (smearing cream) on Shabbos. Did he quote the Shmiras Shabbos’s important Psak from R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, no? Why? a lack of Intellectual dishonesty and perverse notion of Torah is my answer. Did he mention that it doesn’t apply to hard surfaces like teeth where it can not be absorbed even MiDerabonon? No. He can and may argue if course, and disagree, but not to mention it and not to argue the point is part if our compartmentalised Toras HaHelem (missing Torah). By all means conclude that you don’t recommend it for various reasons but you must also mention that those who do rely on Giants with shoulders as broad and broader than many of those quoted. This is a living Judaism of B’Nei Torah. It’s a perverse Judaism to omit such on purpose and effectively brainwash a Kehilla or Yereim and Sheleimim. To me. THIS is the difference between centrist orthodoxy and charedism. The former are open and intellectually honest and complete. The latter are cocooned in a hermetically sealed perversion of halachic consideration which buttresses a jaundiced view, at the cost of the vista of opinion. It’s almost cult like.

Author: pitputim

I've enjoyed being a computer science professor in Melbourne, Australia, as well as band leader/singer for the Schnapps Band. My high schooling was in Chabad and I continued at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel and later in life at Machon L'Hora'ah, Yeshivas Halichos Olam. View all posts by pitputim