A comment on this post:
There are some Gedolim who we have to be extra special careful not to assume we understand. Taking someone like the Rav ztz"l who was in another universe spiritually, emotionally and intellectually, and attempting to fully understand where he is coming from is an endeavor destined for failure. A person has to be deeply steeped in Kabbala AND philosophy and many other disciplines to begin to try to understand him intellectually. After that, one also has to have a Neshama that is much much higher than the average person - a rare phenomenon. The Rav himself said that the only person who understands him is Rav Yaakov Moshe ztz"l. So how can we - living in a much different historical epoch and cultural milieu, steeped in Twitter and Instagram, begin to think we understand what he wanted?
Or take Rav Soloveitchik ztz"l. He was in a different universe than everyone else spiritually and intellectually. He was a Brisker, בן הג"ר משה נכד הג"ר חיים נין הג"ר יוסף דב. He was deeply steeped in philosophy and profoundly, naturally religious [well beyond what his towering intellect perceived]. Then Modern Orthodox American Jews, people who grew up on ice cream, pizza, the Yankees, Michael Jackson and The Cosby Show, think they "get" him.
Not even close. He was coming from a different place than any of us can even remotely relate to.
The truth is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to fully "get" ANY human being. Each person has his own nature, set of experiences, influences, upbringing etc. etc. We must be VERY humble before "zuggin deyos" [expressing opinions] about others.
על אחת כמה וכמה for גדולי עולם.
So try to understand other people but know that there are always parts of the psyche that are beyond us. We don't even fully understand OURSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
