One of the hallmarks of the liberal modern Orthodox intellectuals is their consistent assertion that rabbis make mistakes. The Avos made mistakes, Moshe Rabbeinu made mistakes, Dovid Hamelech made a HUUUGE mistake, the Sanhedrin made mistakes, Chazal made mistakes, the Rishonim made mistakes, the Achronim made mistakes and of course you can't trust rabbonim - even the biggest among them.
It is not they they are incorrect. Nobody is infallible - even the Pope. He only THINKS he is infallible b/c he doesn't have a wife. Get him married for ten minutes and he will find out how fallible he is... But the question is how much you emphasize that part and de-emphasize the other side - the greatness of our Chachomim. Yes, Moshe Rabbeinu hit the rock - but he also spent 40 days not eating or drinking while in communion with Hashem. Yes, the Sanhedrin could make mistakes but that was the exception rather than the rule. Yes, Chazal might have gotten their science wrong - but that doesn't detract from their spiritual greatness and from our obligation to follow what they say. אפילו יאמרו לך על ימין שהוא שמאל ועל שמאל שהוא ימין. [A topic not for a blog post but for a book]. Do Gedolim err? Yes [one could argue]. If the Sanhedrin can err [as is clear from psukim and maseches horiyos] - certainly an individual Gadol can. But where do you go with that? Should we stop listening to Gedolim b/c they are not perfect? What is the alternative? Making [to use one contemporary example] Natan Slifkin our Gadol? Well, it turns out that Natan Slifkin is ALSO fallible. Just ask his pet rhinoceros and he'll tell you. Everyone being their own Gadol? OK GREAT. Let us give ourselves test on Shas page by page and Shulchan Aruch Siman by Siman and see how we do. Ummmmmm - not.
Interestingly enough, there is one sefer where the fallibility of Gedolim is highlighted. That sefer was written not by a liberal by any stretch of the most stretched imagination. It was written by the ... Satmar Rebbe [whose yahrtzeit is in a few days כ"ו אב]. In the ויואל משה he tackles the problem of how it could possibly be that almost ALL of the Gedolim were so gravely mistaken in following Zionism in smaller or greater measure. Even Agudas Yisrael is Zionist in his book [both literal and metaphorical]. They are GEDOILIIMMM???!!!!
His answer that he goes to great lengths to substantiate is that Gedolim make mistakes. So don't worry about rejecting any connection with Zionism. You aren't following the Gedolim but they are all wrong anyway. They are swayed by the masses and aren't thinking independently. So said Reb Yoelish.
That being said - I still feel more comfortable being in the corner of all the Gedolim and not in the opposite corner where one will only find 2 Rebbes - the Satmar Rebbe and the Satmar Rebbe [today there are 2. 2 in the Maharal symbolizes bracha!]. I prefer to believe that Gedolim base their words on what they understand the Torah to say on the topic and not ח"ו because of any negiyos.
So strange bedfellows - the Satmar Rebbe and Chovevei Torah. But here ya have it. On this issue - they converge.
That being said - Open Orthodox don't give Tzdaka like the Rebbe did [jaw dropping amounts - from his childhood already when he would borrow and incur debt in order to give Tzdaka]. They don't spread chesed like the Rebbe. They don't daven like the Rebbe. They lack the Yiras Shomayim of the Rebbe. So the similarity ends at the "can rabbis make mistakes" question.
