Rabbi Shafran defiantly supports haredi leaders in support of Rabbi Tropper
February 1, 2010 Evolution, Haredim Cross Currents
And despite pleas, no mention of Tropper’s former target, Rabbi Slifkin the Old Earth (Gedoylim forbid!) rabbi
Buried in the comments section (because the penguins think we are lazy), Rabbi Shafran has some fighting words in defense of The Great Ones’ (Gedolim) decision to back the threesome rabbi, Leib Tropper, who seeks to enforce the True Torah belief that the world is less than 6,000 years old, and that gentile women need greater scrutiny in joining the tribe (unless the offer favors to Tropper).
It seems that I have a very different understanding of Gedolim and Jewish leadership than at least some who have posted comments. Whether born of frustration or anything else, demands (or even requests) that Gedolim “show leadership” (i.e. do what we think they should be doing) are incoherent. If a leader is a leader, it is ipso facto his choice to decide whether to do or not do something. If leaders need to hew to what some of their ostensible followers, or others, feel they should do, then they are followers, not leaders.
They may not be as great as the penguins of 500 years ago, but they are still very, very, very great.
Yes, silence can be evil. But assuming, based one’s personal perceptions (or those of likeminded persons), that a respectable person’s silence in a particular situation is evil is an evil in its own right. And insinuating that recognized rabbonim chashuvim are useless (or worse) is profoundly wrong. “Mai a’hani lon rabbonon?” is not a sentiment Chazal considered proper, to say the least.I realize that the sentiment may not derive from any inherent disdain of, or condescension toward, Gedolim. What I suspect is that people are insufficiently respectful of the Gedolim of our day simply because of an assumption that today’s chachomim don’t “measure up” to those of yesteryear. The truth, though, is that yesteryear’s Gedolim were criticized too by some in their time, by people who felt that they too didn’t “measure up” to Gedolim of generations yet earlier. (Even Moshe Rabbeinu, for that matter, as per the Midrash, was subject to gossip and derision.) Plus ca change… What has changed today, though, is the internet’s ability to bring together and amplify the voices and reach of critics. Yes, niskatnu hadoros (as any Godol will readily attest), but the bottom line is “Yiftach bidoro k’Shmuel bidoro.” Each generation’s Torah leaders are their Torah leaders, no less than any earlier generation’s were theirs. And let’s not forget that we, too, are part of the dor that is niskaton. Our Gedolim remain our Gedolim, the chachomim that are the einei ha’eidah for our times.
In other words, you aren’t bothered by rabbinic authority or its corruption. You were just questioning whether these rabbis were as wonderful as the ones of the last generation.
Before video and audio tapes and the Internet. You know…when they were just awesome.
4 comments
Although all 3 of my comments (a record!) were rejected for that post, I did get 1 in for Rav Doron Beckerman’s post a few days earlier. Herewas my point:
As the old saying goes, justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. I’m sure Rav Reuven Feinstein does not approve of Rav Tropper’s behaviour. In fact, he’s probably quite bothered by the knowledge that he gave support to such a menuval. But according to Rav Shafran, my thinking that is enough. I don’t actually need to hear it from Rav Feinstein himself.
Rav Shafran, by his own admission, lives in a bubble. He’s protected from all the nasty public comments by the censors on Cross Currents. He can reject critical e-mails by simply writing back “You’re an ass” and deleting the original. As a result, he never does have to face the consequences of his idiotic statements.
What he has totally missed is who he is dissing. Most non-frum Jews don’t give a damn about Tropper. For them it was a minor “Oh look at those hypocritical religious types” story that has come and gone. The Oisvorfs? Who cares what they think? Their reaction was expected and typical. Tropper could come out in favour of fresh air and they’d all start smoking – just to show him.
But it’s the frum crowd he’s misread. We want answers from these “gedolim”. We want a statement that says “He’s a menuval, we’re sorry we supported him and we’ll block his attempt at redemption”. And by dismissing us he just shows he doesn’t get it anymore.
Lord, what a dreadful man – and the sad thing is he isn’t the worst of them.
I realize that the sentiment may not derive from any inherent disdain of, or condescension toward, Gedolim.
Yeah, think again.
By the way – “The Threesomer Rebbe”. There, I claim it!
Oh, and this:
If I wanted to regularly fill the role of moderator of comments to my essays, I imagine they would allow me to. I have not made that request, as I trust their judgment.
Blatant falsehood – he implied strongly in an email I showed DK that he removed at least one of my comments (probably both, though I haven’t gone back to look for the second one):
I considered your comment to fall into the “name calling” category, which included adjectival characterizations as well as nouns.
My transgression? I told him he should be ashamed of himself for posting that article in which he (essentially) blamed Eli for causing the earthquake.
They may not be as great as the penguins of 500 years ago, but they are still very, very, very great.
Heh! It’s like a Carson routine. “How great are they?” “They’re so great… “
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