Shlishi, I haven’t seen R’ Shach’s quote inside, but you give no context to understand whether he is talking directly to poskim who need to follow a sheeta or to the average Jew in terms of who to ask shailas to, whether he is discussing following an Achron vs. a Rishon, or whether he is referring to following a chashuv Rosh Yeshiva vs. a recognized Gadol Hador. Your quote stands alone with absolutely no context so I couldn’t just apply it to all situations across the board. My Rosh Yeshiva’s statements, however, are in very specific context, and they don’t argue with this R’ Shach, except in the assumption that most people are equipped with the ability to rank gedolim – something that common sense says is highly unlikely. I dare say that if the average kollel guy thinks he can rank gedolim he is fooling himself and holds a bit too highly of himself.
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