Q&A: Competent Authority
Competent Authority
Question
Hello Rabbi, I’m trying to understand what I’m supposed to do in terms of studying Jewish law, and in general:
On the one hand, I have very strong learning abilities, and when there is a topic that I’ve studied in depth and my reasoning points to a certain view, it is very, very hard for me to go against my own reasoning, even if that view is not accepted by the public.
On the other hand, I don’t think I’m competent authority, and I don’t know if I ever will be. According to my reasoning, a competent authority is measured first and foremost by closeness to God, in terms of love and awe, in observance of the commandments, proper conduct, love of other people, and many other virtues, and only afterward by level of Torah knowledge and intellect.
What do you think I should do in this situation in terms of the halakhic path I should follow? On the one hand, I’m not competent authority, so I can’t create a halakhic path for myself or for the public, and on the other hand it is very hard for me to give up my own reasoning and on studying Jewish law in depth.
Answer
I don’t know what your criterion is for a competent authority. In my view, that is determined by learning, knowledge, and halakhic skill. Closeness to God cannot be measured, and in my opinion it is not supposed to play a role here. Of course, one must have fear of Heaven, meaning that it should matter to you to rule correctly.
What you are supposed to do is become a competent authority in your own skill, and then decide for yourself. Beyond that, if you are not entirely a competent authority, but you have a position of your own and it fits the view of other halakhic decisors as well (even if others disagree with them), you can rely on that.
Discussion on Answer
If there is a book in which the correct laws appear, it doesn’t matter who wrote it. But you cannot know that this is in fact what it contains.
Everything else is a foolish question.
Is there any book in which it is known that the correct laws appear? We have the Talmud, and then we have many commentators throughout the generations, each according to his own view. The only difference between the book I spoke about and those is that it was produced by someone without fear of Heaven, so the question is whether one may not act in accordance with it because the author lacks fear of Heaven?
I made a distinction between a book that relies entirely on halakhic decisors throughout the generations, as opposed to a book that rules directly from the Talmud, because even from a God-fearing person, today it would be difficult for the overwhelming majority to accept a halakhic ruling from a book that rules entirely from the Talmud. If so, perhaps in the first case it would be possible to use it, and in the second not.
*Also, one point to think about regarding this question is that there are anonymous books that halakhic decisors have used throughout the generations. How do they know those were written by a God-fearing person?
As for the other questions, I don’t know why they are foolish. I’d appreciate it if you could still address them.
And one more point, if I may: suppose the person who wrote a certain book is a community rabbi. Who knows what his fear of Heaven really is? Maybe he has none at all. So one can also ask: how would we know that what is written there is correct?
Thank you very much, Rabbi. If possible, please have the patience to answer a bit more on this:
Suppose a comprehensive halakhic book were discovered, and it became clear that the person who wrote it was someone who did not believe in the Torah at all, and not even in God, but he dedicated his whole life to clarifying what the correct Jewish law was in his view. That is, if there were a God and He had given the Torah, this is what He would have wanted in terms of Jewish law, according to that person.
Would it be permitted to conduct oneself according to this book when it is entirely built on personal rulings?
Would it be permitted to conduct oneself according to this book when it is entirely built on that person’s positions when they are based on other halakhic decisors?
Do you think there is positive value in such a book for the Jewish people and the Torah of Israel?
Do you think that writing such a book by that person generally fulfilled God’s will for that person?