Out of step with the Jewish blogosphere

Note: Both Orthomom and Krum as a Bagel insist that their posts were not meant to be disrespectful to gedolim. I apologize for intimating that; it was what I took from their language, and it was not their intent.

It’s become commonplace for Jewish blogs, Torah observant blogs, to pick on the perceived foibles of rabbinic leadership. In the last few days I’ve seen posts ridiculing the Edah haCharedis for their stance on vocational training, laughing at the White List of tznius-compliant stores, and more.

I'm generally the last one to protect the Edah haChareidis. As a YU/RCA musmach, I don’t agree with them on a lot of things. My daughter will, G-d-willing, receive higher education, and there are no White List stores on our family's shopping list. I am regularly astonished at the obtuseness of Agudah proclamations, as well as those of other major Jewish organizations.

All the same, I have to express my extreme discomfort at the tenor of these articles and the criticism leveled at gedolim. I just don’t think that the average Torah-observant Jew has any clue what the word “gadol” means.

I’m reminded of Rocky (the original film), the scene when Rocky is in a bar, watching a television interview with World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed. Apollo is yukking it up and playing the dandy, telling kids to wear suits and carry briefcases rather than become a professional athlete. The bartender calls Apollo a clown, and Rocky turns on him. “You calling Creed a clown? You calling the heavyweight champion of the world a clown?” Rocky, the third-rate ham-and-egger, knows what boxing is about, knows the kind of work you put in to train and win a fight, and knows the work ethic, not to mention talent, that goes into becoming heavyweight champion. He respects it in a way that others cannot, because they’re not in the field.

That’s the way I feel when I hear people mock gedolim and question their Torah knowledge and their ethics. These are rabbis who have spent decades learning and teaching, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen hours per day. They’ve been dedicated to this their entire lives. They don’t take breaks and luxurious vacations, they don’t watch TV and movies or read paperback novels, they don’t hang out with their friends schmoozing. I’m not romanticizing it; this is the life.

There are some 2700 daf in shas, and the Gedolim can tell you what's on each page. They can quote Rishonim and Acharonim and debate and discuss the different sides of each argument. They know Shulchan Aruch, they know poskim and teshuvos.

And they know life. They answer questions from rabbis like me every day, with sensitivity and wisdom and creativity. They know how to be lenient, and they know when to be strict. They are quite familiar with the human condition.

So when you question the gedolim, keep in mind that you're talking about the Heavyweight Champions of the World. For gedolim, these decisions are all about ethics, and all about right and wrong, not about power and ego. Question their decisions, but don’t question their gadlus.