Daas Torah. This is a subject often discussed here. Where do we get Daas Torah? It is based on something called Emunas Chachamim. What is that? Some would say it is synonymous with Daas Torah. Perhaps. In any case, that is the subject of an article in Hakirah Magazine. Thanks to Rabbi Gil Student’s blog Hirhurim for his announcing the new issue of Hakirah.
I’m not going to re-hash my views here. But I am going to post the conclusion of the article which in brief basically reflects my views on the subject. The article can be found in its entirety here in PDF. It was written by HaRav Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch who is a Musmach (an ordained Rabbi) of Yeshivas Ner Israel and is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Maaleh Adumim, Israel. It is a brilliantly executed explanation of the term and how it should be applied today. It is fully sourced and footnoted and well worth the read.
Recently, some have begun applying the term “emunat hakhamim” to something else entirely, something that Hazal never discussed—that hakhamim also have prophetic authority in divrei reshut. We are not talking about asking advice of those who are experienced and wise in Torah, whose righteousness, Torah knowledge and brilliance provide good guidance and sound advice.
It is surely good for any person to seek advice from those who are greater and better than he. But there is a difference between asking advice and taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, and relying on others with absolutely no independent thought.
There are those who label such childish behavior as “emunat hakhamim” while in reality it is a distortion of this great attribute. Instead of acquiring true Torah, those who cling to this distorted “emunat hakhamim” distance themselves from the light of the Torah and are ultimately incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong.
The distinction between a prophet and a hakham is clear enough. When a prophet instructs on divrei reshut, not only are we commanded to obey, but “it is forbidden to have any thoughts of doubt or to contemplate the possibility that the prophecy never took place, and it is forbidden to challenge him excessively” (10:6).
With a hakham, however, emunat hakhamim requires us to clarify and elucidate his every word, and one who does not do so is simply a “fool who believes anything.” If this is true for Torah, then even more so for divrei reshut. “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but one who acts with wisdom will prevail.
