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| 2 Gedolim - Rabbis Auerbach and Lichtenstein |
The main reason (the Pope’s resignation) is relevant is that many of our octogenarian and nonagenarian Gedolim might take a lesson from the Pope.
I think this is an
error. The two are not comparable. The Pope has an official position in the
Church from which he can resign. A true Gadol has nothing official to resign
from. He is a Gadol because of his achievements... and because he has recognition from his
peers and community about those achievements. You can't resign from
achievements.
The fact that a Gadol might be a member of an organized
group of peers is irrelevant to his actual status as a Gadol. One can be a Gadol
without belonging and one can resign from that group if he does belong. But one
cannot resign from being a Gadol.
If on the other hand a Gadol becomes demented because of an
age related illness (Alzheimers for example) - it will be noticed, and his
opinions will no longer be accepted. That does not lessen
our responsibility to honor him. It is just a recognition that he is no
longer of sound mind... and Shailos should no longer be asked of him.
That in theory is the ideal. But the reality is not
like that, I'm afraid.
What I believe happens today is that some elderly Gedolim are so
sheltered by their handlers from the public, that if they ever do become
demented, no one would know but the handlers. And they're not going to tell
anybody for 2 reasons: 1) They believe it would dishonor him for people to know
that he suffers from dementia, and 2) they can still use him to "Paskin" for them on
their issues by surmising what he would have said had he been in full control
of his mental faculties.
The problem with that is twofold as well.These handlers
often have their own agendas which color their beliefs about what a Gadol would
say... and the fact is that they are lying to the public.
The question arises quite frequently in our day when so many
who are considered Gedolim are well into their 90s.
Yet people still go to them for advice.
Age alone should not disqualify anyone from being of sound
mind. Dementia is an illness common to old age, but not every old person
becomes demented. For example those who were privileged to speak directly to Rav
Elyashiv even as he entered and passed his 100th year on earth can
testify to the man’s soundness of mind… and ability to render a decision. To have asked him to resign from being a Gadol is
like asking a man or a woman to resign from their gender.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t problems. Even if a Gadol is of
sound mind - he can sometimes be misused and misquoted by his handlers. Access to him may be limited and controlled. Decisions on public policy can be said in his
name even if he did not actually say them. Or he can be misled and make public policy decisions
based on misinformation.
Should that completely disqualify him? Should he
refuse to ever render another decision? I don’t think so. The solution is not
to resign from your “Gadlus” but to fire your handlers when you find out they
are misleading or misquoting you. Even if their intentions are honorable.
There are those who would say that if a Gadol could be
so easily misled and he knows it - he should ‘abdicate’ his role as a Gadol. The truth is that a lot of damage can be caused
if he continues dispensing advice or making edicts in these circumstances. One need not look further than Rav Elyashiv's ban on Rav Nosson Kamenetsky’s book Making of a Gadol.
Others might say that if he continues to
function as a Gadol and giving advice knowing that sometimes he is misled - that is
too great a flaw in his character to even be considered a Gadol.
But
I don’t agree. Gedolim are not perfect. They are human, just like the rest
of us. A true Gadol will always try to do the right thing. And the public should
not lose out because of occasional errors. Not availing oneself to the mind of
a Gadol would be a loss to the world, too. The best way to avoid error is personal
contact. Asking a Gadol to stop giving advice is an unnecessary loss of a
valuable option.
That there is no way of knowing when a Gadol has been
manipulated into a bad decision by an agenda driven handler- is why public pronouncements made in his name should
never be believed. Unless they see it written and signed in his own handwriting . It is our responsibility to know
that and not his responsibility to stop rendering decisions. A true Gadol
remains a true Gadol whether others misuse or manipulate him or not. What all
this means is that one should try to get direct access to insure that his views
are real... and not believe what you hear.
The only real question is who is a real Gadol today? What
are the qualifications? What kind of achievements should he have? How intelligent
and how learned should he be… in Torah and in Mada? What kind of personal character
is required? To what extent are we required to follow his views? These are all
legitimate questions about which I have my own view and is beyond the scope of
this essay. I have discussed them in the
past and they are beyond the scope of this post. But
once someone has achieved that status, resigning is not an option.
