This vort bothered me

amother

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 11:16 pm

naturalmom5 wrote:

Let me get this straight..

You have lost respect for a chochuva Talmid Chochom , because You don't understand something.. Surprised

Now I totally why women are discouraged from learning.

On a simple level, it just means , Hashem always does whats best for us, even when its seems like the worse possible thing to our limited vision..

Actually, I do understand. I'm certain that hashem doesn't determine our longevity by the amount of steps we take. You believe this and understand this as well.

Would you lose respect if a rav said something that was clearly absurd?

Someone on this thread mentioned that perhaps he wasn't thinking clearly because of his ordeal. Fine, I can accept that. But we are judged by our words.

amother

Amethyst

Sat, Jul 11 2020, 11:32 pm

OP, I read it too.
One thing to keep in mind, so many stories or anecdotes or quotes attributed to certain rabbanim have been told over so many times that by the time they make it to print or you hear it in a speech from someone who heard it from somebody etc, it's been changed or maybe was never even said in the first place.
I've read at least a few interviews of the children of gedolim who, when asked about certain stories about their parents, made a point of saying the story hadn't happened like that or even was completely made up.

Mama Bear

Sun, Jul 12 2020, 12:13 am

I absolutely loved the article and was riveted by it. I had been so terrified when he was so sick with covid and cried when I saw the clip of him going home from the hospital. I have been waiting all this time to hear from him what his hospital experience was like and he didnt disappoint.

The vort wasn't made for me or you, but for him to make sense of his newfound disabilities that he's having trouble coping with.

PinkFridge

Sun, Jul 12 2020, 9:56 am

I read it. I had a hunch that was where I'd find it.
Because I have such respect for this rav, and davened for and continue to daven for him, I knew I wouldn't let the vort faze me. Particularly the chain of the vort back to the Chofetz Chaim. Who lived to to be 95 and certainly didn't limit his words or actions if he felt that they were necessary and appropriate.

I'm trying to process this in a literal way. I really believe that it's meant to be understood in a more abstract way. That when we are stopped, e.g. physically like this author of the article or in other ways, like hitting a wall in a project we thought was good and important, we should use the newfound time to evaluate, regroup, and move on.

(BTW, I have had moments where I heard someone of stature saying something rubbed me terribly wrong, and it was hard for me to relate to this person with the respect and reverence every had for him. I decided to act as if. As if I could still respect the person. And that we are all human and this was one statement to one person that wasn't cruel or mean-spirited but at the time, seemed tone-deaf. I take what I can from this person going forward, I don't share my experience with others, and do feel that this person is worthy of respect for the sum total of everything he's been through his life. Maybe it takes compartmentalizing. I'm happy I made that decision.

But I don't believe that to be the case here.)