Dealing with the Passionate vs. the Reasonable

Originally published 10/9/07, 1:45 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
From the Avodah list:

On 10/7/07, regalkit@aol.comwrote:

The sefer, [i.e. Vayoel Moshe] in my humble opinion, is full of these misrepresentations; can someone guide me as to how I can understand a Godol Hador's writings?

Thank You.

Binyomin Hirsch

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Never having  read this sefer, I cannot comment on the specifics...

Let me quote these principles on the general question:

• "As soon as passionate advocacy enters, reasonable judgment and fair-minded balance exits"
• "One can be either an advocate for a position, or be a dispassionate objective observer but it is well-nigh impossible to serve both causes justly."
• "Hevu masunim bedin"
• and al Tadin Yehcidi, etc.

Maybe the best check for any published work is constant peer review and to never accept the position of a "gadol" by his own authority alone.

Example: The Rambam was a Gadol but he stated many controversial positions. AFAIK only Teimanim accept his positions [almost] wholesale. Certainly, R. Yosef Karo did not. The beauty of the Beis Yosef and the Rema is that generally they surveyed a wide-consensus of "gedolim" and rarely relied upon a single idiosyncratic view. I endorse that methodology wholeheartedly. In that sense I would state of myself that I am accepting of Gedolim in general and a skeptic regarding any specific Gadol 's pronouncements.

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Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com