I was going to write about the current situation from a religious and political perspective. Specifically, I was going to write in detail how many of our local Queens representatives on all levels and from all neighborhoods in the borough have disappointed us. Some are shocking, as they were previously very helpful – and helpful to the Jewish community. Almost all of them have the local organized Jewish community to thank for their election. I did warn them that this would happen, if the loyalty of the elected officials to the community was never allowed to be questioned; so I am entitled to say, “I told you so!” But I will leave that for another time.
This week, I would like to take a break and focus on something totally not related to the ongoing crisis we face in Israel and abroad.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan zt”l (1838-1933) authored many vital s’farim, most notably the sefer Chafetz Chayim, a landmark work on the evils of lashon ha’ra (harmful gossip) and the six-volume Mishnah B’rurah, first published in the late 19th century. The Mishnah B’rurah has become the most popular and respected guide to Jewish law on the Orach Chayim section of the Shulchan Aruch, which deals with halachah needed by Jews daily.
Every weekday morning, I deliver a shiur on the Mishnah B’rurah to an interactive audience via Zoom, reaching people from KGH, Flatbush, Lakewood, Florida, and even Israel. I spend a lot of time preparing the shiur and I do enjoy presenting it. For decades, I have been reading every Shabbos the Chafetz Chayim on the Torah. So the “Chofetz Chaim” is quite on my mind. In my opinion, he must be among the greatest Jews in the last 200 years, if not more.
It occurred to me for some random reason that the Chofetz Chaim was never known to produce sh’eilos u’t’shuvos (shu”t) – responsa on Jewish law relating to people’s personal halachic queries. Responsa has been the hallmark of all the legendary halachic decision makers for centuries. There are many responsa from the Rishonim and even the Geonic period dating back some thousand years. This is how Jews received their guidance on all emerging halachic matters from the greats throughout the Jewish world.
In more recent times, the 18th century Rabbi Akiva Eiger of Posen, the Noda BiYehudah of Prague, and the Chasam Sofer of Budapest achieved halachic posterity through their responsa. In our own times, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Yitzchok Weiss, and Rav Asher Weiss (yblch”t) became respected in halachah due to their responsa addressing issues of the day. Of course, in America, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l became the most authoritative poseik of his time and beyond.
So how is it that the Chofetz Chaim, of all people, did not produce sh’eilos u’t’shuvos? I would say that other than what is written in his s’farim, he was not known to be a poseik. How could this be?
The thought entered my mind that this is because the Chofetz Chaim was not really a rav or rabbi in his town. He was the head, or Rosh HaYeshivah in Radin, Poland. He was a man of the book, but not one who was involved in individual halachic decisions. True, people came to him from the world over to receive practical guidance and his blessings, but he was generally not called upon by the community to respond to contemporary halachic matters.
The aforementioned g’dolim, at one time or another, had been community rabbanim. This includes Rav Moshe Feinstein, who began his career as a young rabbi in Luban, Russia. It was years later, when he arrived on these shores, that Rav Moshe became Rosh HaYeshivah of MTJ in Manhattan.
I discussed this matter with a rav in Baltimore whom I respect deeply. He agreed with my assessment and added an interesting insight. He said that the Aruch HaShulchan, authored by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein around the same time as the Mishnah B’rurah, was the halachic sefer of choice for many years in prewar Europe. That was because Rabbi Epstein was a rav in the community of Navahrudak for several decades, so he understood the developing needs in halachah and minhag (customs). According to the rav I spoke with, it was first the Chazon Ish in Israel and then Rav Aharon Kotler in America who popularized the Mishnah B’rurah following the war.
I mention all of this to state, once again, the need to reinstate pulpit rabbanim in positions of leadership along with other Torah giants of the day. They add a much-needed dimension. It will do the entire community well.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
