Am I missing something here? There is great importance to this message from Rav Avigdor Miller ZT”L, and it is not about the concerts, though that is the context. He is guiding us in how to approach many things in life. It is not about making bans or issurim. It is about recognizing the pride that a Yid must have, and that there are many things for which we should refrain because “Es passt nisht”. Unfortunately, the frum community has been using our leaders to create issurim, and believes that this will make us better. It does not. The Torah gives us 365 mitzvos “Loh Saaseh”, and even tells us in the gemora that having more prohibitions than positive mitzvos is the basis for נח לו לאדם שלא נברא משנברא. To simply add to that list is not the way to accomplish things. There is certainly room for our Gedolim to point out to us that there are contemporary issues are included in age old issurim, and I have no hesitation to the occasional levying of a new issur, as needed by the times. But the persistent “Kol Korehs” with new issurim and “standards” is not the way that HKBH wants to run the world. Rav Avigdor Miller’s message is that these concerts are simply not proper, but that creating an issur is not how to manage the community. That is a precious piece of guidance from a sorely missed Gadol.
Menu