Say It Ain’t So!

Fake News

At a time where so many lives are at stake I can’t think of any damage that can be much greater to the world of Orthodoxy than what I saw late yesterday. Damage that will be felt mostly in the world where Daas Torah supersedes all else – the Charedi world. 

How serious is Daas Torah taken? The Torah (Devorim 17:11) teaches us the following. We must listen to the authority of the judges (Sanhedrin). You must listen to their rulings and do what they tell you to do. Do not turn away to the left or to the right. 

Rashi, quoting the Gemarah in Sanhedrin (89) says this means even if they tell you that right is left and left is right, you must listen to them and deny your own perceptions of reality. In lieu of the fact that we have no Sanhedrin today, this dictum has been applied to the opinions of today’s rabbinic leaders and calls it Daas Torah. Now nowhere is this more the case than in the Charedi world. In fact the Agudah was built on the idea of Daas Torah. When the Gedolim speak.... end of conversation.

Rabbis that are considered Gedolim often make proclamations about public policy and call it Daas Torah, And we, the Jewish people, are supposed to follow their advice. Even if it is counterintuitive and makes no sense to us. (i.e. they tell us left is right or right is left.) The idea being that their superior Torah knowledge supersedes our own common sense. So we bow to their superior knowledge.

Which brings me back to what I saw yesterday. It was a published announcement by rabbis that are considered Gedolim. Which included heavy duty Chasidic and non Chasidic leaders declaring that in the view of Daas Torah one should not take the COVID vaccine because it is dangerous to one’s health! 

I had no clue at first whether this was a fake document. It turns out that it is indeed a fake. Perhaps some unscrupulous Charedi anti-vaxxers decided to use the names of rabbis known to be sympathetic to the anti-vaxxer cause.  Maybe they even believe that doing so even without permission is justified because they believe the danger is real. 

This document is being widely distributed as Daas Torah. (Probably by the fellow that wrote it). And that can lead to tragic consequences. 

Even if any of these rabbis would in fact believe that the COVID vaccine is dangerous - despite all the evidence to the contrary... it is one thing to express that view privately. It is another to say it in the name of Daas Torah. People that take Daas Torah seriously from the rabbis mentioned in this document may end up paying for it with their lives. 

Handwritten and signed letter from Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky

My hope was that the names included in this document were used without their permission. And apparently that is probably the case. In fact moments ago I was forwarded a hand written and signed note from R' Shmuel Kamenetsky  (reproduced here) that he absolutely does not Paskin this way; has thus far not uttered a word about it one way or the other; and adds that each individual should do what is medically appropriate them. 

I believe that all the rabbis mentioned in this document should do the same. And make a very loud and clear protest against those who issued a statement that is both false and uses their names without permission. Without a clear and very public statement to this effect, the danger of someone who values Daas Torah actually believing it to be legitimate and following that advice is real. It can endanger their lives by leaving them exposed to contracting a virus that has already killed millions of people. And isn’t done doing that yet! And may  God forbid include killing one of them.

Which is why I titled the post ‘Say It Ain’t So!’ Let these rabbis put an end to what may be one of the most dangerous proclamations ever made in the name of Daas Torah.