Interesting observation on imamother

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:12 pm

just noticed something interesting here. was reading two threads one after another and this is what I found:
one thread had someone giving very right winged opinions , to which many posters responded with comments such as "is your rav g-d" "does your rav take over g-d for the day""how can your rav make decisions about your life" etc.
then there was another thread where the poster was given a heter and she was a bit uncomfortable about it. all the comments there were "you must follow what your rav says" "you have a rav for a reason" " your rav knows what he's talking about" "trust your rav"
this has nothing to do with the op's of the thread, but with all the commentators.

I found it very ironic.
do the pple here have emunas chachamim or not? or do they pick and choose when its convenient?( it is possible that both threads had completely different posters so then my question isn't valid, but I highly doubt that that's the case. )
just a thought.... Scratching Head

youngishbear

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:19 pm

If I am not mistaken about the threads you're referring to, my guess is that one is about hashkafah and basic worldview (which many don't feel you need to approve with a rav) and the other is about a halachic shaila (which is the rav's job to pasken.) I haven't read them closely or commented, just read bits and pieces on both.

The more cynical conclusion is that the responses will skew left on a forum with such a broad spectrum of posters. And in both threads, the replies follow more "lenient" viewpoints.

notshanarishona

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:27 pm

there are some things that are black and white halacha and some things which are more controversial to what degree a heter is needed.
For example, it is clearly written that a women should do less bedikos if they are causing her injury.
Birth control is one of the topics that you can ask 5 rabannim and get 5 different answers.

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:29 pm

youre right about the part that for many posters its hashkafah vs halachah, and I agree with the part that pple opt for the left viewpoint quicker but what struck me odd was the choice of words they use. funny how a person can use such opposite statements about a rav. " how can your rav decide for you vs. you must listen to your rav". if someone feels the need to ask a rav then maybe it's in the category of halachah for them. and besides, don't pple ask their rav on lots of hashkafah based questions , such as job options, shalom bayis questions, chinuch related questions... etc. ?

youngishbear

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:31 pm

boymom wrote:

That's what I'm saying. Many people on here don't consult their rav on anything but halachah.

Different strokes for different folks.

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:52 pm

pause wrote:

Can of worms...

BTW, I was impressed how you noticed and complimented imachossid on the other thread for her calm tone in face of much opposition. That was nice of you!

thanks for noticing . I hope others noticed and learned a thing or two.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:00 pm

boymom wrote:

not everyone does that. I have never asked a rav any questions other than straight forward halacha. And even then, only when I dont know the answer or cant look it up and find the answer myself.
Not everyone lives by daas torah/emunas chachamim.
I was always taught to use my brain and then if I cant figure out the answer, and only then, to go ask a rav. But I would never ask a rav about hashkafic things. Thats for myself and my husband to talk about and decide.

DrMom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:09 pm

boymom wrote:

I don't know to which threads you are referring. Were the very same posters on both threads? Or were these different people? If it is the latter, I don't see why this is so interesting.

Also, if one thread was about a specific halachic shaila (a situation in which all frum Jews agree that it may be appropriate to consult a rav), and another was about an issue of dubious halachic importance, then it is also understandable that reactions may differ.

Last edited by DrMom on Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:21 pm; edited 2 times in total

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:09 pm

shabbatiscoming: if that's how you were raised , then that's the norm for you. but why can't pple understand that just like they want pple to appreciate that they were raised the way you were, there are many pple out there that were raised otherwise. they were raised to consult with their rav about hashkafah too. I don't think there's a right or wrong here. why cant posters here understand that for some pple, bc is akin to halachah? and if for them its halacha then they should obviously ask their rav regarding it. there's no need to say such nasty comments about rabbanim. no one believes their rabbi is g-d but there are plenty of pple that rely heavily on das torah because that it part and parcel of their culture.

and btw, just want to mention, there's one thing of not asking das torah, and another thing of mocking das torah. we just learned about korach in the parshah... what was his end??

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:13 pm

DrMom wrote:

I don't know to which threads you are referring. Were it the very same posters on both threads? Or were these different people? If it is the latter, I don't see why this is so interesting.

because I find that majority of the posters here all have similar opinions in yiddishkeit issues.... why do I say so? because during any controversial threads, check the "likes" on each post. then you'll understand why im saying it. only certain types of posts get liked 57 times.... but im not going into that now cuz its another conversation completely.

Last edited by boymom on Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:15 pm

dr. mom. I'll reiterate and say that I meant to specifically comment on the choice of words the posters used regarding das torah. I might have different opinions regarding asking a rav regarding hashkafah vs. halachah, but I'd be careful with the words I use about a rav.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:18 pm

boymom wrote:

but not at all. there are women here from all walks of orthodoxy. And with that comes so many different opinions of all thigns related to frumkeit.

boymom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:28 pm

this is my perception of this website, but I get the feeling that most of this website is more left than right (that's giving a general description, I know withing each category there are so many types and viewpoints, I just mean the general viewpoint of pple here, without getting into the nitty gritty) I believe most ( not all) very right winged pple don't have or have limited access to internet anyway, so there can't really be a balanced opinion on this site.
again, its my opinion, feel free to differ.

PassionFruit

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:43 pm

Agreed, 1000%. I am right wing, and in my neighborhood 75% of people don't own computers, and the ones that do mostly have strong filters [like white lists] so they probably cannot even get to the site. I got my computer/access recently because I was going through a terrible time and needed a break from my reality [this was encouraged by my rav].

5mom

Wed, Jun 24 2015, 10:56 pm

boymom wrote:

I completely agree that it's important to be respectful. That said, I have not seen much bashing of specific rabbis. It's the idea of daas Torah on non halachic matters that gets posters worked up - some because they have had bad experiences, and some because they are philosophically opposed to the idea. Add those two groups together and you may get a majority.