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Extreme appeals to authority negatively impact conscious and critical thinking by substituting the judgment of an individual for a thorough examination of the argument or evidence, which disregards the need for independent verification. This reliance creates a state of “epistemic dependency” where individuals accept claims based solely on the status of the speaker rather than the content of the message, often leading to the acceptance of incorrect or incomplete information.
Key negative impacts include:
Suppression of Critical Inquiry: Unquestioningly adopting an expert’s position prevents the evaluation of actual merits, effectively bypassing critical thinking and logical reasoning.
Cognitive Bias and Error: The “appeal to authority” fallacy acts as a cognitive shortcut where people prioritize the speaker’s prestige over empirical data, potentially causing communities to hold onto incorrect views for years (e.g., the historical persistence of the 24-chromosome theory due to a single authority).
Organizational and Social Stagnation: Excessive respect for authority can lead to groupthink, stifling engagement, diminishing individual responsibility, and creating toxic environments characterized by fear and a lack of open communication.
Moral and Intellectual Passivity: Relying on authoritative pronouncements rather than personal reason results in “borrowed wealth” that offers no real knowledge to the recipient, fostering a habit of authority bias that hinders the development of autonomous moral agents.You’re a member of the wrong religion. Judaism does not comport to your ethos.
That’s a really interesting take, especially the idea of “epistemic dependency.” I agree that blindly deferring to authority can shut down critical thinking and make people accept claims without really understanding them.
At the same time, I think there’s a balance to strike. In a lot of areas—like science or medicine—we kind of have to rely on experts because we can’t personally verify everything. So the issue isn’t authority itself, but when it replaces reasoning instead of guiding it.
I also liked your point about how this can lead to long-term errors sticking around. It makes me wonder how many ideas today are accepted more because of who says them rather than how strong the evidence actually is.
Overall, I think you’re right that people need to stay mentally active and question things more, even when the source seems credible.To shkoyach r noach
I happen to agree with you but only to a certain extent. In 2023 I showed up at YWN and in the course of a certain thread I “admitted” that I watch TV. I was universally pilloried and one poster wrote, “watching TV is no different than eating a cheeseburger in Burger King.?” I made it clear that I wasn’t trying to convince anyone to get a TV, I was simply stating my situation. Eventually, I went to a Posek, and he told me that there’s no problem with watching TV. So how did it become ingrained in so much of the Yeshiva World that TV is the “Great Satan?” Decades ago, a certain Rabbi started a Crusade against the “Boob Tube.” and he was successful in developing followers even though there was no substance to his anti-TV rants. The reason I qualified my approbation of your comment is that it’s dangerous to endorse “rescue” who has publicly declared that one should not follow the laws of the Torah since they run counter to man’s free will.
Rambam “accepted emes regardless of a source”. In science also, there is a system of open publications that allows other knowledgeable people to verify what is published. So, if you are looking at a popular publication and there are several studies on the issue, you might rely on the exppertise. Still, context matter. While generally halakha defers to one doctor, R Mayer Twersly had a teshuva early on during covid where he explains that in this case of great uncertainty, we should consult several sources and act cautiously according to all of them. Now, our lack of knowledge about covid was not greater than medieval lack of knowledge about any diseases of the time, but we simply know better what we don’t know 🙂
Torah @rescue, Torah @rescue what you are omitting from all your posts here and in ‘the coffeehouse/coffeeroom topic you started named, “Dehumanizing others” is Torah Knowledge’. You expound upon ideas that are not from Torah, but from your own fancies. You are a RASHA/Wicked Person. You are not of Torah nor are you Yiddishe/Jewish. Stick to the Torah and its related Seforim/Books/Scrolls. Stop expounding on your own personal non-Jewish non-Torah agenda. We are Jews here, not anti-Jewish. Be specifically Torah or leave these coffeehouse/coffeerooms flat.
I agree with the dangers of epistemic dependency. That’s exactly why replacing the dogma of the Rambam with the dogma of The Lancet doesn’t make you a critical thinker, it just changes which robes you bow to.
Science isn’t resilient just because it says so. A real expert is someone who loses something when he’s wrong. Most “experts” today get tenure, grants, and TV spots. If their model blows up, you eat the downside, not them.
That’s not science. That’s scientism — a belief system with lab coats instead of bekishes. It inherits all the pathologies you listed: authority bias, groupthink, suppression of inquiry. “Peer review” becomes “peer pressure.” The 24-chromosome error lasted because no one wanted to contradict the big name. Same mechanism, different hat.
Antifragile systems don’t care about credentials. They care about survival. Water doesn’t ask if the engineer went to MIT. It finds the leak. Markets don’t ask if the Fed has a PhD. They reprice. When “science” becomes an institution that can’t be disconfirmed without career risk, it’s no longer science. It’s a guild. Guilds are fragile.
You’re correct that blind authority is dangerous. It’s also why a yeshiva isn’t a lab. The beis medrash isn’t built to test hypotheses; it’s built to transmit a mesorah. Its error-correction is chazara, machlokes l’shem shamayim, and 2,000 years of people trying to break it and failing.
Posting this here is like giving a lecture on peer review in the middle of Krias HaTorah. Not because the points are wrong — many aren’t — but because the forum has a different telos.
The beis medrash survived longer than any university because there’s a difference between mesorah & Kabbalah versus intellectual passivity. And there’s a very fine line where “epistemic dependency” can veer either to blind faith or to scientific dogma.
No human is immune to confirmation bias and narrative fallacy. That’s not a bug; it’s the operating system. We’re pattern-matching machines who tell ourselves stories so we can sleep. Scientists do it, rabbis do it, you do it, I do it.
The question isn’t “who’s unbiased?” Everyone’s biased. The question is “whose bias has been punished by reality for 3,000 years and lived?”
That’s why humbly accepting faith in Hashem isn’t a cop-out from thinking. It’s the recognition of epistemic limits that makes you reach outside the human box toward Hashem! You anchor to something outside your own head, something that outlived empires! That’s why Chazal say “al ta’amin b’atzmecha ad yom mos’cha”.
qwerty613:
I found the “Crusade”, as you ineptly put it, against television by the Rabbis “decades ago”. Except that it wasn’t by “a certain Rabbi”, but rather by over 40 of the most eminent Rabbis of the generation. Here’s partial list:
Rabbi Avrohom Pam
[Yeshivas Torah Vodaath]Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Levin
[Yeshivas Telz, Chicago]Rabbi Aaron Schechter
[Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin]Rabbi Binyomin Paler
[Yeshiva Mkor Chaim]Rabbi Binyomin Zeilberger
[Yeshiva Bais HaTalmud]Rabbi Chaim Baruch Wolpin
[Yeshivas Telz, Chicago]Rabbi Chaim Epstein
[Yesshiva Zichron Melech]Rabbi Chaim Stein
[Yeshivas Telz, Cleveland]Rabbi Elya Fischer
[Kollel Gur]Rabbi Elya Svei
[Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia]Rabbi Gavriel Giinzburg
[Yeshiva Ner Yisroel, Toronto]Rabbi Henach Leibowitz
[Yeshiva Rabbi Yisroel Meir]Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan
[Yeshiva Toras Chaim, Denver]Rabbi Joseph Rosenblum
[Yeshiva Shaarei Yosher]Rabbi Leib Bakst
[Yeshiva Bais Yehuda, Detroit]Rabbi Levi Krupenia
[Yeshiva Kamenitz, Toras Emes]Rabbi Lipa Margolis
[Yeshiva Torah Temima]Rabbi Malkiel Kotler
[Beis Medrash Govoha, Lakewood]Rabbi Meir Stern
[Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic]Rabbi Mordechai Gifter
[Yeshiva Telz, Cleveland]Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum
[Yeshivas Mir]Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky
[Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia]Rabbi Shimon Shwab
[Rav, Khal Adas Yeshurun]Rabbi Shmuel Faivelson
[Bais Medrash LaTorah, Monsey]Rabbi Shrage Moshe Kalmanowitz
[Yishivas Mir]Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld
[Mattersdorfer Ruv, Yeshiva Ch’san Sofer]Rabbi Simch Schustal
[Yeshiva Bais Binyomin, Stanford]Rabbi Tuvia Golstein
[Yeshiva Emek Halocho]Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
[Novominsker Rebbe, Yeshiva Novominsk]Rabbi Yaakov Schnaidman
[Yeshiva Bais Moshe, Scranton]Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg
[Yeshiva Ner Yisroel, Baltimore]Rabbi Yechiel Perr
[Yeshiva Derech Ayson]Rabbi Yekusiel Bittersfeld
[Yeshiva Zichron Shneur]Rabbi Yisroel Perkowsky
[Yeshiva Bais HaTalmud]Rabbi Yitchok Feigelstock
[Yeshiva of Long Beach]Rabbi Yosef Harari Raful
[Yeshiva Ateret Torah]Rabbi Zecharya Gelly
[Rav K’hal Adas Yeshurun, Yeshiva Rabbi S.R. Hirsch]Rabbi Zelig Epstein
[Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah]But, thankfully, we here have the anonymous “Posek HaCR” qwerty613 who is far smarter, far more qualified, and far wiser than not only any one of the above Rabbis, but of all of them combined.
Unless coffee addict was correct in 2023 when you showed up at YWN.
In case anyone cares to read the text of the “Crusade” qwerty613 referred to, here it is:
Television: A Cry of Anguish and Appeal to Our Jewish Brethren ?
To dlm
I have no idea why YWN keeps printing this lunatic’s posts. He has every right to practice Judaism as he sees or doesn’t see fit and Hashem will then use His right to send him to hell. It’s really that simple.
To yittish
Not only are you completely correct, but you also write beautifully. At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to that jerk’s Gaavah. Rescue reminds me of a Reform Rabbi who wrote in the now defunct Jewish Week, “Maimonides is a Rabbi and I’m a Rabbi. Why is his opinion any more valid than mine?” Rescue is convinced that he knows more than all our Sages and he even has the hubris to state that Hashem doesn’t want us to keep the Torah.
Agreed.
Thank you qwerty613. He’s so annoying and I believe he knows it. And yes, you’re right H”M has already sent him to gehinnom, just look at how many posts he writes. One right after another. Confusion of mind and Verbal Diarrhea. He can’t stop, nor can he help himself. And, speaking to him is useless. He just goes on and on without aim or knowledge of what he is saying or doing. Once again, thank you for calling him a lunatic, because he is definitely cursed for disobeying Torah Laws right and left and H”M is not sorry for putting him in the position he is in. I’m sure of it. Be well.
At Matan Torah we all had a group think experience. We saw the mountain being held over our heads & were coerced to accept all of Torah Shebaal peh. It wasn’t until many years later after the nes of Purim that we reaccepted it willingly.
We also participated in the brochos & klalos at har gerizim vhar avol where we cursed anyone who doesn’t uphold the Torah. In other words, we ostracized those of us who refuse to obey the laws of the Torah. Just like society doesn’t accept thieves & murderers, a Torah society doesn’t accept open & willful desecration of Hashems will.
This is also for the greater good of society. If society condones immoral behavior, they will be influenced by it & begin to emulate it.
I’m not a frequent participant here but recent posts contained nivul peh, & a general lack of basic Torah background which led to statements of apikorsus.
Judaism doesn’t share any of the cruelty of the umos ho’olom.
Judaism is the perfect guideline for life made by a benevolent & merciful creator. Any comparison between the punishments of the Torah for certain sins, & the savagery of the nation’s of the world, is a complete disgrace of our sublime Torah.
A Jew who spent a few years learning in kollel would have the background in Torah knowledge, not to make these critical mistakes.To dlm
Let’s consider what the numbskull wrote yesterday in a different thread, “Querty I never said G-d has no right to keep our commandments.” What this functional illiterate meant is that we don’t have to keep G-d’s commandments. And I can prove that this was his intent from another post of his dated 2/4/26 on the thread involving Sheitels. “Do some halachos not make logical sense?” Alot of them don’t. Your(sic) allowed to admit that and speak the truth. Do you keep it anyways? Yes, but again that’s a personal choice.” So, we see this atheist’s attitude to our religion. If he feels like keeping something he does so, but if not, not.
To ujm
You are apparently a follower of leading Chareidi Rabbonim, so why have you ignored the Gedolim who banned using the internet? You are a total hypocrite. I can watch TV because my Rabbis permit doing so, but you reject the position of your own mentors. What a lowlife you are.
qwerty613: I spoke to Rabbi Plutchok, who you falsely claimed to be a follower of, and he unequivocly paskened l’halacha that watching TV is forbidden.
Or did you shop for another “rabbi” to tell you what you want to hear? Did you google her positions before asking her for her “psak”?
This website is designed for Orthodox Jews; I’d suggest you find a site geared towards Reform “Judaism”.
To haimy
You’re a Torah Jew and like all Torah Jews you’re repulsed by the worthless atheist who calls himself rescue. We must all unite to get rid of this lowlife.
To the group
Let’s consider the “logic” of this fungus who calls himself rescue. He argues that if I can go against what I’ve been told and watch TV he can go against what the Torah says and follow G-d’s “real” intent. Again, this maniac decided that Hashem never wanted us to keep the Mitzvohs. Aside from the fact that he’s psychotic, he’s also a total moron. No Rabbi ever told me not to watch TV. As I stated in 2023, I have a Psak from a world class Posek that there is no problem with watching TV. For those who choose not to, Kal Hakovod.
To ujm
Would you care to cite the post in which I said I’m a “follower” of Rabbi Plutchok? What I said is that Rabbi Plutchok is one of my mashpiim that’s all, but he isn’t the Rav who said that there is no Issur of watching TV. That would be Rav Dovid Feinstein’s son-in-law. Now obviously I don’t believe you actually spoke to Rabbi Plutchok but if you want to convince me call him again and tell him to text the dentist from the Lower East Side with his Psak on TV. Now if you claim to be on such intimate terms with Rabbi Plutchok, I suppose you know what he thinks of Rabbi Miller and those fools who follow him. He calls them “Millerites” and said that they’re brain-dead cult members who don’t actually practice Judaism. So, if you call Rabbi Plutchok, you can ask him to confirm what I said. Unlike you, I don’t lie. Now, I’m waiting for a response to my challenge from the other day. I’ll repeat it, “Since you’re a follower of Chareidi Rabbis why are you violating their Psak and spending so much time on the internet?” Since I know you won’t answer me I’ll just say checkmate now. You should get off YWN, because no one is interested in your Rabbi Miller garbage. I know you hate the State of Israel because he hated the State. He also hated YU. He was a hatemonger and we should reject such rhetoric. On the other hand, he was a great Marbitz Torah and so Rabbi Plutchok told me that he considered him a Gadol. I agree with Rabbi Plutchok on that point.
To the group
“We have to bring context to the biblical text so we can understand the law_correctly.” Yes, that’s why we have the Gemara and the Rishonim and the Acharonim etc. But this worthless punk thinks that he has hegemony over the Torah.
qwerty613: You keep getting caught up in your web of lies:
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/censership-and-conformity#post-2509218 (post-2509218) You said: “As my Rav, Rabbi Moshe Plutchok said…”
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/empire-chickens#post-2507847 (post-2507847) “My current Rav, Rabbi Plutchok…”
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/is-chabad-sacrificing-their-youth-in-the-quest-for-outreach/page/5#post-2502198 (post-2502198) “My present Rav is Rav Moshe Plutchok.”
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/yud-tes-kislev#post-2485286 (post-2485286) “my Rav, Rabbi Moshe Plutchok”
I can give you more if you need.
As far as your disingenuous, phony, two-faced question, the Gedolim established TAG specifically to filter use of the internet to block inappropriate material while allowing other material to be used.
But now your throw poor Rabbi Plutchok out with the bathwater. Why? Becuase he doesn’t fit your narrative, so he is no longer your Rav for this purpose and you no longer follow him.
Even after when virtually all the leading Gedolei Yisroel of our generation said, and signed their names to, that television is vulgar, un-Jewish, obscene, indecent, perverse, full of depictions of wanton murder and violence, immorality and nihilism, mockery of faith, corruption and licentiousness and that the day will come when each of us will have to account for having a television, with gehenom, when we are instructed to excrcise restraint and to distance ourselves from it; and that we must free ourselves and our children, once and for all, from the addictive task-master – the television set, eliminate from our homes this spiritual pollutant that toxifies the very atmosphere and that it is incumbent upon every man and woman, every family and circle of friends, to purge television-viewing from their homes.
And you blatantly lied that it was “only” HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Miller ztvk”l that said all the above, when in fact as I linked above in this thread, these exact verbatim statements was written and signed to by all the leading Gedolei Yisroel from the Litvish, Chasidish and Sefardish Rabbonim of our generation.
P.S. I called Rav Shmuel Fishelis, the new name you’re trying to falsely throw out as approving television viewing, but I wasn’t succesful in reaching him. The person that I got hold of and spoke to said he can’t speak in Rav Fishelis’ name but from what he knows (he seems to be close to the Rav), as Menahel Rav Fishelis in Mesivtha Tifereth Yerushalayim prohibited the talmidim from having televisions in their homes, and that while it is theoretically possible he gave someone a heter bshas hadchak to have a television (speculating that such a person might have engaged in worse activities, otherwise, in his opionion), thus giving such an individual and individual dispension, he certainly wouldn’t say it is generally acceptable. (Don’t worry; I’m not going to ask you what untoward and/or sacrilegious activities you are drawn to.)
Rav Moshe Feinstein ztvk”l was a primary signatory alongside other Gedolei Yisroel such as Rav Elazar Shach ztvk”l and Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky ztvk”l on a famous public letter banning television entirely.
P.P.S. I’m not bothering Rabbi Plutchok a second time for your vanity and purposeless request. You’re free to speak to him directly.
To ujm
Yesterday you wrote that I falsely claimed to be a follower of Rabbi Plutchok. I countered that I never said I’m a follower, what I said is that he is one of my Rabbis. You then quote me as saying, on several occasions, that he’s my Rav. Thank you for confirming what I said and demonstrating that unlike an NK lover like you, I don’t lie. Let me explain what Rabbi Plutchok said about followers, “Lubavichers and Millerites are exactly the same. They’re brain-dead cult members, and they don’t actually practice Judaism.” So, no I am not a follower of Rabbi Plutchok. Moreover, Rabbi Plutchok told me, “Rabbis have absolutely no right to tell others what to do.” That’s why he dislikes Rabbi Miller and he hates Millerites like you. Now let’s discuss Rabbi Fishelis. In 2023, when I was being attacked on YWN for saying that I watch TV I spoke to Rabbi Fishelis and he said, “There is absolutely no Issur regarding watching TV not Doraysa and not Drabonon.” Rabbi Fishelis and I know each other for 60 years and we’ve lived in the same building on the LES for the last 50 years, so I wouldn’t change a word that he said. I’ll repeat, “Only Rabbi Miller made a crusade against watching TV.” Yes, many Rabbis ruled against owning a TV, and I am definitely not advocating for people to watch, but none of those Rabbis said that someone with a TV has no Cheilek in Olam Habo. I asked Rabbi Plutchok and Rabbi Fishelis about this, and they both said that’s nonsense. You can continue lying to yourself and to the others on YWN but no one’s buying your Miller garbage. You’re almost as repugnant as rescue. Checkmate you lying moron.
Interesting to observbe yeridas hadoros here: R Miller wrote that it used to be ok to go read books in public libraries, but “nowadays” you cant read about such great role models as Tom Sawyer …
same – TV of 20th century is probably cleaner than ads you see on YWN … maybe, reruns of those soap operas should be recommended as treatment for internet addiction. Consult your local ruv before following this advice from a random guy on internet.
ujm > theoretically possible he gave someone a heter bshas hadchak to have a television (speculating that such a person might have engaged in worse activities, otherwise, in his opionion),
this is a good reason. One of the reason for decreased sexual activities and crime from the current generation of teens is attributed to the time spent on TikTok – every minute someone scrolls the feed, he is not strolling around the mall engaging in risky activities.
qwerty613: So when you started learning by Rav Miller, you didn’t even know how to learn Gemora, as per your previous posts. But now you not only hate him, you just falsely made up that Rabbi Plutchok dislikes him — even though you’ve previously posted Rabbi Plutchok holds Rav Miller ztvk”l is a godol hador.
Your entanglement in your web of lies continues.
Until your last post, you referred to Rabbi Plutchok as “My current Rav”, “As my Rav”, “My present Rav”, “my Rav”, etc. When one has a Rav he’s obligated to follow his psakim. But in your most recent comment, when confronted with these uncomfortable truths, you downgraded Rabbi Plutchok to merely being “one of my Rabbis”. Apparently, now, you have a roster of rabbis in your rolodex to ask specific “shailos” to, depending what answer you want to hear. Rabbi A, he permits TV, that’s who I’ll ask the TV shaila; Rabbi B, he permits mixed swimming, that’s who I’ll ask the swimming shaila…
You’ve also written that Rav Moshe’s grandson who comes to you to get his teeth cleaned is a Chosid of Rav Miller.
I hope you don’t mess up your patients teeth as bad as you mess up everything else.
Now you can go back to playing imaginary chess, with you comically ending 50% of your comments with “checkmate”.
To the group
I’m not going to waste my time with an NK lover who openly pronounced on YWN that all problems in the Jewish world are due to Zionism. The reason he has such an odious view is because he’s a brain-dead Millerite as Rabbi Plutchok calls all followers of Rabbi Miller. Now this lying knucklehead thinks that Rabbi Miller was the smartest person who ever lived. Well, if he was so smart why didn’t he understand the problem with Chabad? Just to clarify the record. One, I never learned with Rabbi Miller. What I said is that I attended a Yeshiva run by Rabbi Miller’s Talmud Muvhak. Second, Rav Moshe’s grandson doesn’t come for cleanings. I’ve done extensive work on him. Unlike ujm who unemployed and living off welfare I’m successful, Baruch Hashem. Third, I don’t hate Rabbi Miller, I dislike him and I reject many things that he said. Fourth, Rabbi Plutchok was my Rav in 2023, but he moved to the Five Towns, so I rarely see him anymore. Five, as Rabbi Plutchok said, “A Rabbi has absolutely no right to tell someone what to do and so never did he ever mention anything about watching TV in the ten years that we were together.” Moreover, with only a few exceptions everyone in that shul had a TV, since the people weren’t particularly frum. Next, Rabbi Plutchok said that he considers Rabbi Miller a Gadol, but not a Gadol like Rav Moshe, Rav Yaakov etc. So, no he never said Gadol Hador. Next, the Gemara says that one can have numerous Rabbis and I do. Finally, one does not have to listen to what his Rabbi tells him especially if he has more than one Rabbi. Rabbis are meant to advise not to order. Tell that jerk, checkmate.
Joseph Goebbels,
Please tell us more lies about your made-up posek, “Harav Yitzchok Ehrentreu” or some more of your notable whoppers, like:
– claiming residence in Gateshead and Meah Shearim
– being married three wives
– having eighteen children
– working as both a chip designer and nuclear engineer
– giving shiurim
– answering a halacha line over the phoneIn reality, your close relative was a Nazi so you’re not even Jewish. Call yourself out, filthy liar!
Rescue:
Can you clarify your question to me? How is what different? I was pointing out that qwerty613 has repeatedly proven himself a perjurer and fabulist. Now he’s stooping to insisting that he did more than cleaning Rav Moshe’s grandson’s teeth. Maybe he did a root canal for him; but he ignored the point that Rav Moshe’s grandson told him directly that he’s a Chosid of HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Miller ztvk”l. That was the posters own previous description of what the grandson told him. Then, a few comments back, he downgraded Rabbi Plutchok from being his “present Rav” and “current Rav” — his own words only a few weeks ago on this forum — to being ‘only’ one of whole bunch of Rabbis he picks and chooses, depending what answer he wants to hear. For mixed swimming permission he has another rabbi, apparently. And, now, in his most recent comment above, Rabbi Plutchok was further downgraded from three days ago being one of several rabbis of his (unlike in January when he was his current and present rabbi) to being a former rabbi who he already dumped in 2023 when Rabbi Plutchok moved to the Five Towns. Now he rarely sees him. Give him another few weeks, and by June he will “dislike” Rabbi Plutchok. Because, after all, Rabbi Plutchok said that he considers Rav Miller a Gadol — a big no-no with this root canal purveyor. But, fear not, he won’t hate Rabbi Plutchok, only dislike him, because even though Rabbi Plutchok said that he considers Rabbi Miller a Gadol, it is “not a Gadol like Rav Moshe, Rav Yaakov etc.” But he’s a lucky-ducky fellow, because he’s a member of some religion where “one does not have to listen to what his Rabbi tells him”, as he aptly put it. Maybe he got that from the New Testament. I wouldn’t know, since I never read it.
To GadolHadofi
I assume you’re referring to ujm. He’s totally psychotic, and a pathological liar.
qwerty613,
He’s also tainted with filthy Nazi blood which explains his virulent anti-Semitism.
I think that the “Lo nahagu kavod zeh bazeh” of the students of Ribi Akiva wasn’t as bad as what’s going on in these threads, even proportionate to their gadlut. Differences in hashkafot shouldn’t be the cause of hatred and name calling. I know, once it starts – one person calls the other, or an entire group of people, a kofer or oved avodah zara – it’s difficult not to hit back with equal force. There needs to be a better way. Everyone here are good people with Yirat Shamayim. We all are looking forward to Mashiah and doing our best to learn Torah and keep mitzvot, to raise our families to be ovde Hashem. We’re all conducting ourselves within the same framework of Torah and Halacha. Yes, we find various levels of commitment, and yes, there are major differences in schools of thought. Ok. The Torah is emet and will never be forgotten. Nobody should feel threatened that the true Torah will be watered down or changed. Emet omedet laad. We don’t need to resort to such vitriol.
I am perplexed why gedolim can sometimes be so harsh on each other. But one thing is for sure, when they speak harshly it isn’t with the same intention and purpose that we have even when we are merely repeating their words. Talking about entire groups of am Yisrael or Talmide Chachamim, accusing them, calling them names- it’s wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the back and forth. I’ve learned a lot. There is plenty to debate and share. The virulence is simply intolerable.
To GadolHadofi
I can’t comment on his Nazi past, but there’s no question that he’s a rabid antisemite. He justifies his Jew hatred by saying that he’s following Rabbi Miller. That excuse won’t help him in the Olam Haemes. Rabbi Miller stupidly attacked many groups, e.g. modern Orthodox, State of Israel, but it wasn’t out of hate. He just wrongly felt that they didn’t represent true Jewish values. The problem is that trash like ujm seize on such statements and view them as a Heter to wish death on other Jews. I’ll give you an example of what I mean. We all know that Rabbi Miller led a crusade to eliminate TV from Jewish homes. About 35 years ago, I had a friend who was a big Chossid of Rabbi Miller and he shared this story with me. He was going through a bitter divorce, and he went to Rabbi Miller for advice. Rabbi Miller told him that if keeping the TV will save your marriage don’t throw it out. So, we see that Rabbi Miller was smart enough to know that Shalom Bayis is far more important than having a TV. BTW, they got divorced. Now ujm will claim that I made up the story. Pathological liars like this Nazi always accuse others of lying.
To user176
Let me start by saying that I think you’re a fine person and you mean well, but hey you knew a but was coming, Anne Frank said that deep down all people are good at heart. Sorry, she was wrong. You can’t call rescue, who says that one need only keep the commandments that make sense, a Yirei Shamayim. And you can’t call ujm who said today that the State of Israel has less Kedusha than North Korea a nice person. What is true is that some people who should know better get caught up in the name-calling and that’s a problem. I try to keep my menschlichkeit but several posters are totally incorrigible. Still, I appreciate your input. We need more nice people on YWN.
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