I’m struggling to get the gist of the comments strewn around here. The great people and leaders are capable of being a source of light and guidance to us. However, we must be fully aware of what they offer and what we need. It is utterly foolish to expect a Rosh Yeshiva, however great and expansive his Talmud knowledge is, to resolve medical problems or know how to direct a patient with a medical condition. To collect his brachos is always worthwhile, and our Chazal stated clearly, “??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????”. It does not instruct us to seek their prescriptions. Why? Because we are obligated to make our ??????? through the means of nature and the science that HKB”H has granted us. When the Gadol will also possess advanced medical training, I can consider his medical guidance an option.
Over the generations, we have witnessed situations in which the guidance offered to someone by a Gadol was clearly ??? ?????. Yes, that happened with many Gedolim of yesteryear, and even today we read stories of ????? ????? that boggle the mind. Yet, one does not have the freedom to rely on such ??? ?????, unless all other forms of ??????? have been exhausted. One may not assume that the Gadol is responding from a wellspring of ??? ?????, even if that is something we have reason to believe is possible.
The confusion over what Daas Torah means is no different from when the terminology was popularized a while back. It’s our deterioration that has us in trouble. We prefer the Gadol use some sort of magic to produce instantaneous yeshuos. We’re misusing our Gedolim by having unrealistic expectations.