7 - The Council of Torah Sages

Summary

IN THE WORLD of Modern Orthodoxy exemplified by the Rabbinical Council of America, I have friends, acquaintances, former students, and a modicum of standing, so that I could accomplish something from within. The leaders of Traditionalist Orthodoxy, marked by greater insularity and profound reservations about higher secular education, are far less accessible to me, though I have relatives and acquaintances within that community as well. Committed to the authority of da'at torah, or ‘the opinion of the Torah’, the Traditionalist Orthodox Agudath Israel has set up a group of distinguished rabbis (gedolim) empowered to decide issues of both Jewish law and public policy. This Council of Torah Sages (Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah) and its equivalent bodies in Israel hold a position of unparalleled influence in a major segment of Orthodoxy, and the leading authorities in that community command great respect among Modern Orthodox Jews as well.

I have already alluded to an early letter that I wrote to the Council immediately after publication of ‘The New Messianism’ (see Chapter 3 above). At some point, I was able to meet with one of the members, who expressed sympathy but provided an unequivocally discouraging assessment of the prospects that a public statement would be issued. As events unfolded, I sent the rabbis copies of the exchange in Jewish Action, my letter to the RCA, and two additional letters commenting on the RCA resolution and the controversy over Rabbi Soloveichik's statements. In the absence of any response, I had no way of assessing the reaction.

The status quo at the end of July 1996 was fraught with irony. The RCA, many of whose members are deeply sympathetic to Lubavitch and actively supportive of its activities, had excluded belief in the messiahship of the Rebbe from Judaism. The leaders of Agudath Israel, many of whom felt long-standing, even visceral hostility towards the movement, observed this development with public equanimity. I was informed that one member of the Moetzes noted in his yeshiva that I had achieved something very positive, though its impact had been diminished by Rabbi Soloveichik's statement. Another, I was told much later, made a similarly congratulatory remark. Still, the Council itself remained utterly silent.