Yesterday, in Hirhurim, Rabbi Gil Student posted a correspondence he had with Rav Daniel Eidensohn, the author of the Yad Yisroel and the Yad Moshe... (the two indices to the monumental works of two of the greatest Poskim of the last generation and the one before: Rav Moshe Feinstein’s Igros Moshe and The Chafetz Chaim’s Mishna Berurah.) The letter stated that in conversations he had with two of the leading rabbinic authorities of our day, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky and Rav Yisroel Belsky, both assured him that believing in an ancient universe is a legitimate Torah viewpoint.
Finally! A little clarity from a member of the Agudah Moetzes. Rav Kaminetsky is apparently far more interested in Emes than he is in religious politics. But as Rav Kaminetsky conceded, most other "Gedolim" do not subscribe even to the possibility of an older universe. They have all jumped on Rav Elyashiv’s "ban" wagon which considers belief in an ancient universe to be K'fira. And some didn’t even bother knowing precisely what was in the ban. They signed on to it simply because Rav Elayshiv did. And since other members of the Moetzes have already clearly stated their agreement with the ban, there will never be a unified response from them on the issue of belief in an ancient universe.
Rabbi Aharon Feldman pointed out in his famous essay about why he supports Rav Elyashiv’s ban on Rabbi Slifkin’s books: “...the public issue most damaging to the honor of Torah and to its leaders in recent memory is what is known as the Slifkin affair.” And he goes on to blame him for it.
He is right about the issue but he is wrong about the cause. True... Kavod HaTorah and the reputation of its leaders have been tarnished. But to quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
It is in the refusal of lesser people to espouse their own beliefs when it contradicts the Gadol Hador that makes them lesser people. Instead of having the courage to disagree, they follow him blindly (as many of the banners said they did because of "who he is"). This attitude is what precludes them from the kind of Gadlus that existed but a single generation ago. That... and of course the attendant suspension any of their own rational thought on this issue.
Perhaps Rav Kaminetsky and Rav Belsky are the only ones who have any potential at all to restore Kavod HaTorah and to achieve greatness in the future... not because they permit me to believe as I do, but because they had the courage to disagree with Rav Elyashiv and espouse the truth as they understand it.
