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Of course Rashi could have refrained commenting. But had he passed over the verse, people would have assumed that he found no problem with it – which he did – or that he understood why the Torah offered this identification of Rivka, which he did not. Instead, Rashi acknowledged that here was a textual problem that he couldn’t solve.

A take home lesson from this is not only to confess our ignorance, but more importantly, to admit when we have made an error. Out of pride, many people refuse to acknowledge when they are wrong; instead, they marshal intellectual energy trying to defend a position that is incorrect.

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One of the hallmarks of roshei yeshivos is their alacrity to admit their mistakes. One would be hard-pressed to find a biography of a rosh yeshiva that does not record at least one incident where they are genuinely appreciative of someone who corrected one of their public shiurim – even though they could have summoned numerous proofs to justify their position.

Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik zt”l once snapped at a student who challenged his analysis. After the shiur, the Rav sat and pondered for 20 minutes and then asked another student to take him to the one who had asked the question. The Rav was led into a dairy diner where the student who had earlier challenged was eating a meal.

The student looked up in horror, fearing that he was in for a second tongue-lashing – this time home-delivered. His analysis this time was surely wrong. “You were right,” the Rav said to the student. Because of your question, I’ll have to completely rethink my interpretation. Thank you.”

(To be concluded)
Chodesh Tov – have a pleasant month!


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Rabbi Hanoch Teller is the award-winning producer of three films, a popular teacher in Jerusalem yeshivos and seminaries, and the author of 28 books, the latest entitled Heroic Children, chronicling the lives of nine child survivors of the Holocaust. Rabbi Teller is also a senior docent in Yad Vashem and is frequently invited to lecture to different communities throughout the world.