A Dati Leumi rabbi posted a video that went hyper viral pontificating to the Charedi community about the correct Hashkafa, explaining to them how misled they are. He is clearly 100 percent convinced he is correct. He cannot see the other side. The Chazon Ish and all the other Gedolim were [and are] hopelessly misguided [in his eyes].
He is missing a critical point.
We are all products of our environment. He thinks the way he does b/c he was brought up in a certain home, is under the influence of certain Rabbeim, lives in a certain type of community etc. etc.
No Goy thinks like him. Not one in 8 billion.
Not one chiloni Jew thinks like him. Not one.
And not one Charedi thinks like him. They look into the same Torah he is using to advance his agenda and emerge with diametrically opposite conclusions.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּצַדּוּקִי אֶחָד שֶׁהִתְקִין מִבַּחוּץ וְהִכְנִיס. בִּיצִיאָתוֹ הָיָה שָׂמֵחַ שִׂמְחָה גְּדוֹלָה. פָּגַע בּוֹ אָבִיו, אָמַר לוֹ: בְּנִי, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁצַּדּוּקִין אָנוּ, מִתְיָרְאִין אָנוּ מִן הַפְּרוּשִׁים. אָמַר לוֹ: כׇּל יָמַי הָיִיתִי מִצְטַעֵר עַל הַמִּקְרָא הַזֶּה: ״כִּי בֶּעָנָן אֵרָאֶה עַל הַכַּפּוֹרֶת״, אָמַרְתִּי: מָתַי יָבוֹא לְיָדִי וַאֲקַיְּימֶנּוּ, עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁבָּא לְיָדִי — לֹא אֲקַיְּימֶנּוּ?!
The Sages taught in the Tosefta: There was an incident involving a certain Sadducee who was appointed as High Priest, who prepared the incense outside and then brought it into the Holy of Holies. Upon his emergence he was overjoyed that he had succeeded. The father of that Sadducee met him and said to him: My son, although we are Sadducees and you performed the service in accordance with our opinion, we fear the Pharisees and do not actually implement that procedure in practice. The son said to his father: All my days I have been troubled over this verse: “For I will appear in the cloud above the Ark cover” (Leviticus 16:2). The Sadducees interpreted this verse to mean that God will appear above the Ark cover, i.e., will enter the Holy of Holies, only after the incense cloud is already there. I said: When will the opportunity become available to me, and I will fulfill it according to the Sadducee interpretation? Now that the opportunity has become available to me, will I not fulfill it?
אָמְרוּ: לֹא הָיוּ יָמִים מוּעָטִין עַד שֶׁמֵּת וְהוּטַל בָּאַשְׁפָּה, וְהָיוּ תּוֹלָעִין יוֹצְאִין מֵחוֹטְמוֹ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים: בִּיצִיאָתוֹ נִיגַּף, דְּתָנֵי רַבִּי חִיָּיא: כְּמִין קוֹל נִשְׁמַע בַּעֲזָרָה שֶׁבָּא מַלְאָךְ וַחֲבָטוֹ עַל פָּנָיו. וְנִכְנְסוּ אֶחָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים וּמָצְאוּ כְּכַף רֶגֶל עֵגֶל בֵּין כְּתֵפָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְרַגְלֵיהֶם רֶגֶל יְשָׁרָה וְכַף רַגְלֵיהֶם כְּכַף רֶגֶל עֵגֶל״.
The Sages said: Not even a few days passed until he died and was laid out in the garbage dump, and worms were coming out of his nose in punishment for his actions. And some say that he was struck as soon as he emerged from the Holy of Holies, as Rabbi Chiyya taught: A type of sound was heard in the Temple courtyard, as an angel came and struck him in the face. And his fellow priests came in to remove him from there and they found the likeness of a footprint of a calf between his shoulders. That is the mark left by an angel striking, as it is stated with regard to angels: “And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot” (Ezekiel 1:7). [Yoma 19b]
The Tzduki was SURE of himself. To the point of מסירות נפש. Yet he was wrong.
Dead wrong.
We don't doubt the veracity of our faithfully committed מסורה for a second. But it IS beneficial from time to time to reassess if your interpretations of it is correct and to allow room for others who think differently than you who deserve respect for their opinions.
I strongly believe in what I believe. But I have LITTLE DOUBT that had I had different parents and went to different schools and grew up in a different environment I would think differently about numerous topics. So would you and so would EVERYBODY.
Life is about the constant search for both the objective truth and the subjective truth for me - meaning what my personal Avoda is.
