Q&A: The Leading Sage of the Generation
The Leading Sage of the Generation
Question
Claims have been raised regarding Rabbi Kanievsky, who said that the yeshivot should be opened anyway—contrary to the instruction to close educational institutions.
What do you think? Is he acting improperly? Does he not understand what is going on?
Do the following claims seem plausible to you?
A. It seems to me that even a person with above-average talent, together with a great deal of work, would not reach achievements like those of Rabbi Kanievsky—for example, writing Derekh Emunah, which is truly an amazing, breathtaking, and important book in its contribution!
Besides that, he also knows a few other things in Torah.
If so, it seems to me that one can give him a bit of credit that he understands what is going on, and analyze the matter with the intelligence, seriousness, and perseverance that brought him to those achievements.
B. What is so complicated? Suppose they told him: there is a virus that causes severe illness mainly among older ages; the number of confirmed infected is such-and-such; the Ministry of Health instructed closing educational institutions (that is the medical opinion up to this point).
It seems to me that any person with average intelligence or above can think a few steps ahead:
How many might be infected, in a rough estimate (a number that rises geometrically),
how many deaths there may be,
and make a value judgment—the kind of judgment a rabbi is entrusted with (Michi once argued that rabbis can decide whether to go to war when they have received professional information): Torah study in yeshivot while keeping the rule of small groups, or sending everyone home.
And the Rabbi, because of his low intelligence, decided…
C. To claim that his grandchildren are biasing him—there is no end to that; he decided to rely on them, and presumably he knows them a little…
You could also say that the doctors in the Ministry of Health are advising the political echelon so that when a commission of inquiry is established, they will not be caught being negligent—and meanwhile the economy will collapse!
Answer
I see that you are not giving up 🙂 You also raised this as a comment elsewhere.
As for your actual points, as I wrote, he is indeed acting improperly and also without authority.
A. I did not address the Rabbi’s Torah abilities. On the contrary, I wrote that even outstanding Torah scholars can say nonsense in other fields. So of course they can also simply make mistakes.
B. I answered the question of the rabbis’ authority to make value judgments here. What is the point of repeating it again?