Nowadays this has changed. Nowadays you have to have emunas askanei chachomim, or maybe emunas dovrei chachomim.
Rav Amar, the [Sefardi] Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim, has been critical of the deal giving the Reform and WoW a location along the Wall for their egalitarian prayer. He, among others, has been critical of the Haredi MKs who have quietly let the deal go through.
Today in an interview Rav Amar said "what is being said in the name of the gedolim [about the deal surrounding the Kotel areas] must be checked, and I don't want to expand on that".
He did not question the gedolim.. Rav Amar questioned the people who are, supposedly, quoting the gedolim. Did people with an agenda portray the picture properly to the gedolim to get a true answer and clear direction, or did they misconstrue the information in order to get a specific answer? Did they relate the response from the gedolim in an accurate and precise manner, or did they tell the public more or less what the gedolim said, fudging on the clarity? Too bad Rav Amar does not expand on this.
I think if Rav Amar had heard from the gedolim their position, and he questioned them, that might be a problem, but I do not think questioning the askanim around the gedolim is really much cause for derision.
I would like to believe that someone in the position of a Rav Amar could go directly to the source and clarify what the situation is, and even present his own opinions and understanding for consideration. I know the political aspect surrounding Rav Amar and why he is now considered persona non grata among some of the gedolim, and perhaps that is why he was not able to confer directly with them on this issue.
Anyways, as mentioned, Rav Amar questioned the people quoting the gedolim. That drew the ire of Motka Bloi, one of the top Degel askanim. Rav Bloi called Rav Amar Reform, with a troubled history.
So Rav Amar is now Reform because he does not have enough emunas askanei chachomim. Considering how they fought him in the past and basically tarred and feathered him, I am not surprised he has no faith in them.
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I've been saying this for some time. When Gedolim come out with statements that sound stupid you have to ask:
ReplyDelete1) Did they really say this or did someone simply think they would and then publish the statement knowing the Gadol won't take the time to issue a clarification?
2) Even if they did, what's was the question? Rav Kaniesvsky has probably never seen a smartphone so if he was told "Yeah, it's a portable porno box and nothing else, what do you think?" it would explain his strident statements about it.
a couple of months ago Mishpacha did a big write up of Rav Chaim Kanievsky. They spoke to his son about him. In the write up one of the things discussed was how his father never uses the phone and does not even know how to use it./. One time he agreed to take a call (I dont remember why or from who) and he couldnt understand how to use it.
Deleteit was clear he has no idea what an iphone is, and only relies on the people who tell him it is bad, it is internet (which he probably also doesnt know what it is), etc
The whole persona non grata for Rav Amar amazes me. It is clear that his intervention in the Chief Rabbi elections, supporting Rav Boaron's candidacy, ensured Rav Yosef's victory by splitting the votes 'against' Rav Yosef. If the race would have been only between Rav Yosef and Rav Eliyahu, I think it would have been much closer.
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