Roshei Yeshivos have a false assumption that they know enough about everything that authorizes them to have an opinion on it. In matters of family counseling for example, the Shalom Bayis of a family can and often is utterly destroyed by the damage inflicted by ignorant advisers!
‘Knowing how to drive a car does not qualify one to repair one!’ he told me. The happily married Choson teacher, Rosh Yeshiva, or Rosh Kollel cannot qualify to counsel a struggling couple. With rare exception, rabbinic leaders who are great Talmidei Chachomim and know much about many things are ignorant about the professions.
This is the reason that Daas Torah is so mocked these days. It is the fallout of the false belief that vast Torah knowledge is enough to understand everything else. Even if one believes that all the wisdom is found in Torah, that does not guarantee that the even a great leader knows it!
In our day we are obligated to follow people who are experts in the field. People who have been trained professionally. How, one my ask, can we trust the expertise of a non Jew who did not get his knowledge through the Torah? The Gemarah tells us the answer: “Im Amar Lecha Yesh Chochmoh BaGoyim, Ta’amin”. If you are told that the nations of the word have wisdom, believe it!’
This is where rabbinic leadership in our day fails. It’s not that they don’t have Torah knowledge, or that they are not ethical, or uncaring. These are people who serve Klal Yisroel tirelessly. It’s that they refuse to acknowledge what they don’t know. It’s too bad that they did not have Rav Starr as their Rebbe. Maybe things would be different now if they had. Please note: This post should not be construed as an opening to denigrate rabbinic leaders. Any such attempt will be deleted as soon as it’s discovered.
Visit Emes Ve-Emunah .
