Comments on Yachdus: Gadol Degree: Who Is One?

The only well defined meaning of "Gadol" in halach...

2010-03-01T04:22:09.666+02:00

The only well defined meaning of "Gadol" in halacha is one who is considered an adult; i.e. past bar/bat mitzva age. This is a well defined status and one can give eidus about this (fortunately it is very rare these days that one needs to--the traditional reason is so a 13 year old boy can free his widowed sister-in-law by chalitza.)

In the meaning of leading Rabbi, the term is necessarily vague as are the criteria. Primarily, that there are enough other people, especially rabbis, who will follow you. Of course, anyone can decide for himself how many (or which) people are enough to qualify one as a gadol. And the would be followers pick who they follow according to their own criteria. Thus the term is vague, and it is pointless to pretend that there are well defined criteria.

Mike S.

What you write about Rav Elyashiv is untrue. While...

2010-02-25T23:02:57.086+02:00

What you write about Rav Elyashiv is untrue. While in many cases it does go according to familial inheritance, Rav Elyashiv was essentially an outsider. Which is why some in the Litvishe world don't really accept him.

Rav Elyashiv did earn it.

About the mada issue. True, and that mostly because Rav Elyashiv is being manipulated by the henchmen around him.

The problem, as I've written frequently, is that t...

2010-02-25T15:50:12.428+02:00

The problem, as I've written frequently, is that there are two definitions for the word "gadol".

The first is more or less what Rav Maryles describes - a person with greatness in piety, intellectual ability and knowledge.

The second, and the more current, is "political leader in the Chareidi community". Rav Eliashiv didn't so much earn his "gadol" title throug his unceasing learning of Torah so much as he inherited it from Rav Schach , zt"l, when he died. And it's a pretty given conclusion that when he reaches the end of his 120th year, Rav Shteinman will automatically get it next. This is the reason for cynicism in the non-Chareidi frum community.

As for the mada concern, what you said is true but remember that leaders like Ravs Kotler and Feinstein consulted with the finest minds of their times when they needed to learn something about a psak. Rav Feinstein, for example, routinely consulted with leading physicians before issuing a psak in medical halacha to ensure he had the facts correct.

However, that doesn't always happen nowadays. During the whole metzitzah b'peh scandal a few years ago with the mohel who was giving babies herpes, Rav Eliashiv is said to have asked an infectious disease specialist if herpes can be transmitted by skin to skin contact and was told "no", something which goes against medical fact. Was he recommended a specialist that would give him the answer he wanted?