Part Two of Rav Aharon Schechter on Creation and Rabbi Slifkin

Part Two. Rav Aharon Schechter of Yeshivah Chaim Berlin was invited to Bnei Yeshurun in Teaneck on March 5th, 2006, along with Rav Aharon Feldman and Rav Mattisyahu Solomon. Here is an extract concerning a question he was asked in light of the ban on Rabbi Slifkin's books (www.zootorah.com/controversy)

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Education

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• RavAharonSchechter2

[matthewjmiller07]

@3:48 he says we don't have to think about it and that it is forbidden to make new interpretations of the Torah. How does he deal with Rambam and the like? They thought about it (it for them being philosophical issues) and often came up with new interpretations.

[atpadp1987]

22 hours ago

i think he gave a very fair response. Jews accept the Torah based upon its giving at Mt. Sinai to approximately 3 million jews. Judasim is unique in that we can base our beliefs on that tradition. This rabbi is arguing that we have a mission to follow that belief. There is no point in wasting time on science which will still be searching for completeness for hundreds of years. Why should we spend time on evershifting science, just to bolster our pseudo intellectual egos.

[lakeeriejew]

Next time your "Partner in Torah" throws a question like this at you, try Rav Schechter's technique.....

.....let me know how it went.

[lakeeriejew]

Don't Rashi and Tosfos have a geographical debate on which European countries face Eretz Yisrael?

There are clear Halachic ramifications for it. If Chazal delved into the question of where the sun goes at night, clearly, there's precedent for us to engage in that sort of question.

The shouting is clearly a defensive mechanism. It isn't going to convince anybody.

Getting your crowd to "laugh at the other guy" doesn't resolve the question. It's a good deflection tactic. That's it.

[notinthemoodforthis1]

you guys are missing the point (im assuming its intentional)... The rav is saying when people who arent qualified to interpret torah do they just create more questions and issuses. Very simple... This is completely true and is proven from all over... he is also talking to people that are beliveing at lets dsay 93 percent and want to fill in the 7 percent gap to him he says stay away cus ur not gonna fill in every question because some things are not exactly in our realms

[dugri07]

This is sad. It's because of rabbis like this that 90% of Am Yisrael went off the derech. Shouting and repeating yourself doesn't make your argument more convincing. Saying that you don't know and you don't care and that no one else should either doesn't deal with the fact that these issues are real and they are a michshol for the vast majority of Jews, who will never ever make tshuva as long as people like this are running the show. Pathetic!

[judaicaman007]

. Me thinks that what Rav Schechter opinion is just ONE opinion It certainly is NOT the opinion of the Rambam in his introduction to 8 Perakim where he states quite explicitly that the PURPOSE of a Jew is to knowledgeable as to how Hashem created this world. The more knowledge one attains, the greater his love for Hashem.

Perhaps this is 1 reason why some people burned his books way back when?

[rivkamord]

"I have plenty of things to learn in the Torah, this is NOT IT!"

No? I think this is EXACTLY it. This is the only way we will continue the search for Truth. By trying.

[jameshanley40]

@GorterPoss

looks like he thinks only chazal can come up with non-pshat.

[FireAce44]

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then we find a period. There you have your millions if not billions of years, that we have no idea of. The bible clearly speaks of a previous civilization being judged and destroyed, and in Genesis we find God bringing the planet out of its void and darkness, that the destruction brought it into. Dinosaurs did walk the earth, but more then likely not in the last 6000 years.