A Judge in Your Days
The verse in this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Shoftim, says (Devarim 17:9) that if one requires a ruling in Torah law, you should go to the judge who is “in your days.” What is meant by adding that it should be the judge who is “in your days?” Rashi says this means even if the ruling rabbi is not as great as ones of previous generations, you should always follow the ones of your generation.
People often have an inclination to discredit the opinions of the leading rabbis, who are not as great as the ones of previous generations. We tend to view the opinions of someone contemporary with less credibility, and we question their decisions more easily. Therefore, the Torah writes specifically that you should always subject yourself to the authority of the leading rabbis “in your days,” even if they are not as great as those of previous generations.
This is not merely a piece of advice, but an actual mitzvah (commandment). We must accept the authority of our leading rabbis, even when we don’t understand or agree with their position. One of the biggest struggles with this concept is following our sages’ rulings when we think otherwise. Why are we obligated to surrender our own logic?
The Wings of the Bird
The Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 496) explains the necessity for this policy as follows: Every person thinks differently. There will always be differences of opinions. If it was up to every person to determine on his own what the will of the Torah is, every person would end up having his own set of laws according to his understanding. Therefore, the Torah instructs us to always turn to the leading rabbis of the generation we are in, who accepted the tradition and toiled to fully understand the Torah laws and views passed down from previous generations. Only by doing so will we succeed in clinging truthfully to the wisdom of the Torah.
This attitude is imperative to our nation’s survival. The Midrash says (Tanchuma, Shemini 11) that the Jewish Nation is compared to a bird, and its scholars are compared to the birds’ wings. Just as a bird can’t fly without wings, so too, the Jewish Nation cannot make a move without its scholars. In fact, one of the causes of the destruction of Jerusalem mentioned by the Talmud (Shabbos 119b) is the fact that the people of those times equated great people with ordinary people. The way a Jew thrives is by relying on the rabbinic authorities of his time. The Midrash says (Midrash Hagadol, Bamidbar 21:5) that when one discredits his rabbinic authority, it is as if he is discrediting God Himself, And one who trusts his rabbinic authority is trusting God Himself.
Embracing the Rabbi’s Ruling
Years ago, Mr. Moshe Reichman, a community activist in Toronto, had a dream of opening up a Yeshivah high school. At the same time, there was a rabbi in the community who also wanted to open a Yeshivah high school. Mr. Reichman requested of the rabbi to postpone opening up his school for a few years so that there wouldn’t be two new schools competing for students at the same time.
Rabbi Shlomo Miller, a prominent rabbi in Toronto, didn’t think the request was in place, and they sent the question to Rabbi Shach, a rabbi widely accepted as a leading authority, for a ruling. Rabbi Shach agreed with Rabbi Miller, and Mr. Reichman accepted the ruling. Not only was he not frustrated with the ruling, he sent a fifty thousand dollar donation to the rabbi who was opening the other high school.
The Wise will Defer
This is the way of the wise. A wise person understands that others may know better than him, and he can subject himself to the opinions of others. To lead a successful life of Torah, we must train ourselves to defer to the opinions of our sages. Even when it is challenging and we see things differently, we must realize that the Torah expects us to trust our rabbis and follow their wisdom.
Parshat Shoftim by Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber torah4every1@gmail.com
