When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve – even to a very limited extent – the bands which have connected them with another, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to do so.
We express our deep respect and admiration toward our dear friend and teacher Rabbi Slifkin, for his great Torah and science erudition, his elegant and eloquent writing style which is graced with a rare degree of articulateness and cogency, for his defense of the Rishonim from unwittingly horrid Mechutzafim who consider themselves defenders of the faith, for his dignified agreeing to discourage reading of his book by those for whom they are inappropriate, for his battle scars incurred while winning souls to Judaism in a manner for which he is virtually alone qualified, for winning those souls and enlightening and inspiring many others among the already committed, and for generously giving large doses of his precious time and energy to share of his wisdom in his books, lectures and, especially, the Jewish blogosphere. At the same time we distinguish between the themes of his original works where his approach was merely the latest in a line utilized by the overwhelming majority of Rishonim and even later by such luminaries as Rabbis Hirsch and Dessler, where it seems to us near blasphemy to delegitimize that approach, and newer (often less relevant) themes in uncharted waters where we are ignorant in general and unaware of their handling by later day authorities (outside of the Modern Orthodox camp, to whose views we often do not subscribe, and can therefore, as respectfully as possible, not base our worldview regarding religious fundamentals, on their views). We obviously cannot overtly condone his approach in the latter area, and are currently bereft of recourse to rabbinic authority for assistance. Personal rabbinic authority such as of our synagogues are either without specialization in these areas, not of stature that we confidently consult them on such crucial matters, or unwilling to take responsibility to rule on such fundamentals (or often a combination of the above). Rabbis of international stature, even those sympathetic to Rabbi Slifkin’s approach, are unable, it seems to us, to offer clear guidance – which would certainly end up as public knowledge – without invoking the wrath of either side of the controversy. (This is not unlike public educators in the United States and elsewhere who are forced to keep their views on creation vs. evolution and other politically correct/incorrect things as private as possible.) In effect, then, the Cherem against Rabbi Slifkin’s books has orphaned us of rabbinic counsel.
Recently, Rabbi Slifkin restated his intention not to waste the time of his desired reading audience with arguments from people who don’t understand biology or have an entirely different epistemology. We respect this for two reasons. He wishes to cater to his target audience and would demote his blog’s standard of quality by allowing those people free reign. Additionally, it is his blog and he may do with it whatever he pleases. Nonetheless, those of us willing to take and read and contemplate comments that don’t meet his standards, in our ongoing quests for what we define as education, would like to try to access those comments.
Therefore-
1. Comments that meet his standards should be sent to him as before and not here.
2. If you have a comment that you judge as not meeting his standards, indeed, don’t waste his time and the time of his desired audience. Send it directly here. (But please minimize the snake oil! :) )
3. If you sent it to him and came to realize that you shouldn’t have; it wasn’t good enough and he rejected, send it here too. (But better had you not bothered him in the first place.)
4. (For people who share Rabbi Slifkin’s epistemology)
Why did you come here? Now that you've come we’re happy to have you, but stay only at the risk of wasting your time, and maybe engaging in a frustrating and pointless debate. We ourselves greatly enjoy reading Rabbi Slifkin and his approach. There are no guarantees that the value of the material here will even remotely approach the value of what he has to offer, and there are certainly no guarantees that you’ll enjoy the epistemology. Why not stay by him?
The goal of this blog is to learn, not to fight. Polite, dispassionate, constructive comments in good taste are welcome, (but probably others will get in too… up to point). If we object to only a small part of your comment, we will ask you to consider correcting it and resubmitting it, time permitting. Please include contact info where you (or your dignified pseudonym) can be reached.
This blog has one obvious drawback, it is not graced by Rabbi Slifkin's talents. Well, when the big rabbi is not available you sometimes discuss things with your friends.
Thank you for visiting!
Come back again!
We express our deep respect and admiration toward our dear friend and teacher Rabbi Slifkin, for his great Torah and science erudition, his elegant and eloquent writing style which is graced with a rare degree of articulateness and cogency, for his defense of the Rishonim from unwittingly horrid Mechutzafim who consider themselves defenders of the faith, for his dignified agreeing to discourage reading of his book by those for whom they are inappropriate, for his battle scars incurred while winning souls to Judaism in a manner for which he is virtually alone qualified, for winning those souls and enlightening and inspiring many others among the already committed, and for generously giving large doses of his precious time and energy to share of his wisdom in his books, lectures and, especially, the Jewish blogosphere. At the same time we distinguish between the themes of his original works where his approach was merely the latest in a line utilized by the overwhelming majority of Rishonim and even later by such luminaries as Rabbis Hirsch and Dessler, where it seems to us near blasphemy to delegitimize that approach, and newer (often less relevant) themes in uncharted waters where we are ignorant in general and unaware of their handling by later day authorities (outside of the Modern Orthodox camp, to whose views we often do not subscribe, and can therefore, as respectfully as possible, not base our worldview regarding religious fundamentals, on their views). We obviously cannot overtly condone his approach in the latter area, and are currently bereft of recourse to rabbinic authority for assistance. Personal rabbinic authority such as of our synagogues are either without specialization in these areas, not of stature that we confidently consult them on such crucial matters, or unwilling to take responsibility to rule on such fundamentals (or often a combination of the above). Rabbis of international stature, even those sympathetic to Rabbi Slifkin’s approach, are unable, it seems to us, to offer clear guidance – which would certainly end up as public knowledge – without invoking the wrath of either side of the controversy. (This is not unlike public educators in the United States and elsewhere who are forced to keep their views on creation vs. evolution and other politically correct/incorrect things as private as possible.) In effect, then, the Cherem against Rabbi Slifkin’s books has orphaned us of rabbinic counsel.
Recently, Rabbi Slifkin restated his intention not to waste the time of his desired reading audience with arguments from people who don’t understand biology or have an entirely different epistemology. We respect this for two reasons. He wishes to cater to his target audience and would demote his blog’s standard of quality by allowing those people free reign. Additionally, it is his blog and he may do with it whatever he pleases. Nonetheless, those of us willing to take and read and contemplate comments that don’t meet his standards, in our ongoing quests for what we define as education, would like to try to access those comments.
Therefore-
1. Comments that meet his standards should be sent to him as before and not here.
2. If you have a comment that you judge as not meeting his standards, indeed, don’t waste his time and the time of his desired audience. Send it directly here. (But please minimize the snake oil! :) )
3. If you sent it to him and came to realize that you shouldn’t have; it wasn’t good enough and he rejected, send it here too. (But better had you not bothered him in the first place.)
4. (For people who share Rabbi Slifkin’s epistemology)
Why did you come here? Now that you've come we’re happy to have you, but stay only at the risk of wasting your time, and maybe engaging in a frustrating and pointless debate. We ourselves greatly enjoy reading Rabbi Slifkin and his approach. There are no guarantees that the value of the material here will even remotely approach the value of what he has to offer, and there are certainly no guarantees that you’ll enjoy the epistemology. Why not stay by him?
The goal of this blog is to learn, not to fight. Polite, dispassionate, constructive comments in good taste are welcome, (but probably others will get in too… up to point). If we object to only a small part of your comment, we will ask you to consider correcting it and resubmitting it, time permitting. Please include contact info where you (or your dignified pseudonym) can be reached.
This blog has one obvious drawback, it is not graced by Rabbi Slifkin's talents. Well, when the big rabbi is not available you sometimes discuss things with your friends.
Thank you for visiting!
Come back again!
P.S. We also intend to periodically present things that should interest our sub-group.
"the Cherem against Rabbi Slifkin’s books has orphaned us of rabbinic counsel."
ReplyDeleteI would say that the Cherem exposed the fact that the rabbis are not who they should be. A blessing in disguise.
"I would say that the Cherem exposed the fact that the rabbis are not who they should be. A blessing in disguise."
ReplyDeleteA sweeping statement. My specific intent was that on the eve of the Cherem you could consult with certain world-class rabbis (the ones who would not eventually sign the Cherem plus the ones who would sign a whole lot after everyone else and, I think, have had second thoughts since then) and receive guidance. Today they are either torn between what they hold and the fundamental Chareidi obligation to follow rabbis who are senior even than they, or between what they hold and a fear of being Cheremed themselves, so they won't give a straightforward answer. We are thus "orphaned of rabbinic counsel".
I would very much would want to believe that on the eve of the Cherem guidance was still abundant, but I think that the process you describe has been going on for centuries, especially since the Haskala. The truth is that it takes a lot of guts to speak the truth in the rabbincal world, and that is not a new phenomenon at all. Dogma rules. Political correctness in the disguise of "Mesora."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which examples you would be refering to. I think the Slifkin Cherem is unique in that he did something that had been going on whithout interruption all these years, only with a new twist here and there. His approach had the Hechsher of the Gedolim and his books had their Haskamot. Are your examples of this genre?
ReplyDelete