Today on Rabbi Bechhofer’s blog, Rabbi Aaron Berger writes about the value of our Mesorah and the inspirational role model figures, the Gedolei Hador who lived and breathed that Mesorah. I agree that that generation of Gedolim was every bit as inspiring as Rabbi Berger says. All of those he mentions, no matter how diverse, were as L'Shma as any human being could get. In fact, there are a great many others that could easily be placed on that list, far too numerous to mention. These were truly inspiring figures.
But that is not true today. Today's group of “Gedolim” is far less inspiring in my view. I leave out R. Elyashiv from today’s group as he really belongs to the previous generation and I believe he is as un-agendized as any of the other Gedolim you mention.
My quarrel is with some of those who are today considered Gedolim or near Gedolim... I do not think one can look at their behavior as exemplifying our Mesorah. Those Gedolim have become far more politicized and have agendas. And don't mind asserting them to the exclusion of all others. It is not about promoting a Mesroah learned from a father or a Rebbe. It is about promoting an agenda. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with promoting an agenda... why should there be if you really believe in it. But it is the manner in which they pursue that agenda that is problematic and detracts greatly from them as Gedolim. Now I’m sure that there are exceptions but they are not “running the show”. Those that do, have a “Take no prisoners/shoot to kill” approach.
To further those agendas they will smear people without regard to the personal consequences of those they smear as was the case recently when one such individual called Rabbi Nosson Slifkin a Rasha. They rationalize such behavior by saying pursuing Emes or Kavod HaTorah demands it. Condemning Nosson Slifkin carries with it the condemnation of tens of thousands of Ehrliche Jews with similar views who are then painted with the same brush.
R. Nosson Kaminetsky’s long term magnum opus is banned and his reputation ruined.
R. Elyashiv who Paskin’d L’Kula on a gravesite issue was publicly denigrated in a Shiur by a man half his age, R Avrahom Yehoshua Soloveitchik. And this led to a huge Chilul HaShem when some over-zealous students pelted him with some rotten tomatoes (or some such act) in the public square.
Furthermore today’s “Gedolim” do little if anything to stem the excessive obsession with Chumros in Klal Yisroel. In fact the opposite is true. Rarely do they see a Chumra they don’t like. Today’s Gedolim seem to concentrate far too much on the Chitzonius of the black hat granting it near equal status with Pnimius of what should be under that hat. Legitimate Kulos such as mixed seating at weddings that previous generations of Gedolim were not Makpid on are today highly denigrated. Yet every Litvishe Gadol of previous generations sat mixed, together with their wives at weddings.
So, I’m sorry, I cannot look to many of the current names touted as Gedolim or near Gedloim for inspiration. They haven’t earned it.
