Curiosity: In a nutshell-R’ Schachter points out that there are two types of Torah-Agaddah and Halachah. Most people (even the Tannaim and Amoraim) concentrate on one. R’ Schachter points out that the Gemara mentions that some Amoraim only learned in the Beis Medrash of Agaddah. And we see this throughout the ages. All of the Gedolim and Poskim had some sort of Agaddah to go with their Halachah-whether it was philosophy, Kaballah, Chassidus, quasi-Chassidus, Mussar, etc. So Agaddah is the parts of Torah that talk about the world, our relationship to HKBH, HKBH’s relationship to the world, etc. From those types of things we have Hashkafa. Hashkafa means an outlook on the world that is from a different Chelek of Torah than Halachah (you can exchange the words Nigleh and Nistar for Halachah and Agaddah during this entire discussion).
But the word “Hashkafa” as used nowadays is meaningless. It is an excuse that people make up. Because everything that someone has a “Hashkafa” on nowadays is a Halchic issue. And removing the Halachah from the issue and instituting a “Hashkafa” instead is wrong and destructive (and probably M’galeh Ponim Batorah Shelo K’halachah and therefore Apikorsus). How to deal with Yom Ha’atzma’ut is a Halachic Sugya. Everything can be found in the Gemara, and this is no exception. The issue of the Heter M’chirah is a Halachic Sugya. Going to college is a Halachic Sugya. Chalav Yisrael is a Halachic Sugya. Etc, etc. But people instead say (and this is what they’re saying, whether they explicitly state it that way or not), “I don’t care what the actual Halachah is. I want to be Meikel or Machmir on this issue and therefore I’m going to make a ‘Hashkafa’ out of it. My ‘Hashkafa’ is to avoid the Medinah and therefore Heter M’chirah is Assur, regardless of what the Sugya says. Or my ‘Hashkafa’ is that movies are okay, and therefore I’m going to watch things that Halachah might tell me are Assur to see.’ It’s doing what “feels right”, not doing what Halachah says, which is not what Orthodox Judaism is. It pigeonholes people into doing Halachic things that they might not think Halachically. Why can’t I not like the Medinah, why can’t I think it’s not such a good thing, yet at the same time be compelled by the Sugya to say Hallel on Yom Ha’atzma’ut? Why can’t I like the Medinah but think that the Beis HaLeivi and the Aruch Hashulchan are right and that Shmittah Bizman Hazeh is D’oraisa and therefore feel that the Heter M’chirah is untenable no matter how it’s done? It forces Halachic opinions on people because of unrelated Halachic opinions, all under the guise of a so-called “Hashkafa”.
Or, the other popular use of the word “Hashkafa” is just as meaningless and even more destructive. I constantly challenge people here to give a definition of “Modern Orthodox”, not only to prove that what many people think of “MO” is just inaccurate, but also to show that it’s meaningless because it’s undefinable. At best, some people have given a list of Halachic tendencies (or just plain bashing, but that’s not the point here) that often go together in left-wing circles (for want of a better phrase). All “Hashkafa” is in those types of conversations is a means of saying, “I’m better than you”. Someone might think that the “Chareidi” lifestyle can’t last, or that it’s a distortion of what the Torah wants, or are just jealous or afraid and therefore use the word “Chareidi” or “Yeshivish” as an insult to say that he or she is better than those people. Or someone will see someone else who is less Machmir than themselves and therefore they call them “Modern” because that shows that they are so much better. A quote I saw on here about a year ago said it best: “Everyone to the right of me is an extremist and everyone to the left isn’t Frum.” It’s a credo that people live by out of misplaced self-righteousness, insecurity, or just plain old self-absorption and, quite frankly, it’s disgusting. Everyone feels the need to validate themselves and the best way to do that is to invalidate everyone else. And it’s all done under the guise of “Hashkafa”.
So does Hashkafa exist? Of course. We have our Aggaddah. We have our Nistar. We have the Chalakim in Torah that don’t deal in Halachic issues. But what people commonly refer to as “Hashkafa” is meaningless and destructive.