Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Where Did We Go Wrong?? The Cult of "Daas Torah"

The Agudah mindset, (this idea is only about 100 years old,) of "Only one Daas Torah"  is exactly the way I was raised to think.

In the minds of my family, if you disagree with the point of view of your rabbi, then you are an apikores, a non believer, who has no regard for Torah or Hashem.
As the rav in this video says so clearly, Sheker, falsehood, eventually crumbles.  A community who has relied on this new, false (and strangely Catholic) understanding of daas torah is watching its children reject its lifestyle and leave in droves.  There are non-religious children from charaidi families filling the streets of our communities here in Israel. (I hear that it is just as bad, if not worse, in the States.)

I know what it is like to be trapped in a system that does not allow you to think for yourself, to disagree, or to take responsibility for your own choices.  Trying to control our children's thoughts and emotions, is in my opinion, what causes "mental problems" in the charaidi community.

 I am saddened, but not surprised, that one angry young man resorted to violence against Rav Shteinman.  I expect that his community will claim that this young man had "mental problems" and he is not a reflection of a problem in the community at all.

http://machonshilo.org/en/eng/component/content/article/34-featured/666-the-attack-on-harav-shteinman-where-did-we-go-wrong

1 comment:

  1. Think for yourself. The bachurim in Lakewood used to argue with Aaron Kotler. This blind obedience thing is brand new and ironically done with leaders whose credibility is quite suspect.

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