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On a recent thread the poster urged people to vote for whoever “daas Torah” says to vote for, it got me thinking, who if anyone influences your vote, Shul Rav? Your kids yeshiva? City Rav, a Godol from overseas, etc. etc. or no one
B’H I’m from a community where the Shul Rabbanim, Schools or President of the Vaad Harabanim (City Rav) have enough sechel not to discuss or endorse any candidate.
They remind the Kehilla of the importance of voting but never who to vote for.The Rav of any 501 (c)3 organization (Tax exempt in USA) had better not be making official endorsement of candidates or urging congregants to vote one way or the other from the pulpit in shul or school bulletins, etc. or risk the organization losing its tax free status.
Most rabbis who do so give general guidelines without mentioning a specific candidate.
Roshei yeshiva might be more direct but it’s personal not as a rabbi.The law is selectively enforced of course.
Commonsaychel,
I’ve heard the Troller Rav influences your vote
😜🤡
Its important to carefully consider the views of rabbonim and askanim, but also understand WHY they are supporting particular candidates. Ultimately, you have to decide what are the issues most important to you and your family and whether those candidates are aligned with your priorities.
If you know that daas Torah will be not tax deductible – do you still ask the shaila or compensate your daas Torah for the expense. Or, worse, you don’t compensate your DT and he feels that it is his obligation to respond to you but he cannot afford losing tax free status, so you made him into a ganav, thus losing his DT status, of course.
Depends what the vote and issue is. Sometimes it pertains to local issues and local askanim or rav knows better than me. Sometimes its more of a political viewpoint like who should be president etc and nobody really knows
Commonsaychel,
I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard the Troller Rav’s opinion you would vote the opposite
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard the Troller Rav’s opinion you would vote the opposite …”
Given that the Troller Rav was a talmid muvhak of the Farblungeter Rebbe, shlita, than it would be total apikorsus to not adopt a contrarian position on any matter of substance he had offered a psak. Chazal bring down that when presented with such explicit guidance from daas torah, one should follow the view of Harav HaGoan Yussi Berra, shlita who shared that brilliant pearl of wisdom that when a yid comes to a fork in the road, he should take it.
Our own opinions are influenced by whatever social media and Whatsapp groups we are in. Rabbonim and roshei yeshiva are above such pettiness and see things clearly.
Lernt, rabbonim, or at least what they say & publish, are influenced by the people they lead. For one, they need to know what the kahal is ready to accept. Second, they respond to the questions they ask. As I quoted before, my Rav lectured on business ethics and mentioned that Polish responsa at some point stopped addressing business issues and concnetrated more on pots & pans … I quipped “it is YOUR fault” (meaning Rabbonim who stopped writing). He responded “No, it is YOUR fault”, that is – no shailos, no teshuvos.
common > and are not busy trying to see which way the wind is blowing.
I know you mean well, defending integrity of halakha against various Reformim and OOS. That is not what I am talking about. It is there in the gemora that psak that is not accepted by the community is being rescinded. If you don’t believe me, I hope you only follow hashgoho that avoids shemen akum.
> does not believe in daas torah and said everybody should pasken as they see fit
yes, you connected two stories well, this is the same Rav. And he paskens as he sees fit, according to achoronim. How is it different from Rabbonim in your town? Do they all refer all your questions to R Moshe? Then, what is their salaries for? Or do they share their Torah for free as T’Ch should?
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