Is It Real? Or Just a Glitch?

For illustration purposes only: The Chasidic Moetzes Agudat Israel (Wikipedia)

One of my Charedi contacts in Israel apprised me of a surprising development in the Charedi world there. As a result of how their rabbinic leaders treated the exposure of Chaim Walder as a serial rapist and their treatment of his subsequent suicide, significant numbers of them are beginning to question their leadership - otherwise known as Daas Torah.

I do not recall anything like this ever happening in the past. At least not in my lifetime. If anything the reverse is true. There has been more trust in Daas Torah now than ever before. The very idea of questioning Daas Torah is considered near heresy. How dare anyone question what a Gaodl says. Even when what they say seems counterintuitive or outright wrong. 

The rationale for this kind of thinking is Lo Sasur. This comment in the Torah is interpreted by current commentators to apply to the rabbinc leaders of our da. It meas that we may not veer away to the right or the left from what they tell us. Even if they say right is left and left is right.

This means that when logic dictates an obvious conclusion and the rabbis go the other way, we nevertheless go with what they say.

That is why what is happening now in the Charedi world is so surprising. Using that logic should apply to how their rabbinic leaders treated Walder’s escapades and death. ‘Daas Torah’  has spoken.  It doesn’t matter how shocking their response to Walder seems to us. They see it through the prism of Torah at a level that the common man does not. Cannot. We do not have the ablity to see things with the clarity their knowledge of Torah brings them.

 But that didn’t happen this time. How long this will last is a good question. But that it happened at all is still surprising. 

My guess at explaining this is the level of disconnect between what everyone was exposed to about this once icon of the Charedi world and how the rabbinic leaders responded to it. Including how his funeral was conducted. All of which was all reported in the Charedi news media and included eulogies filled with superlatives about Walder -  along with pictures of his massively attended funeral.

This might also be a manifestation of an underlying private questions about some of other  expressions of Daas Torah about which they applied the concept of Lo Sasur and/or the fear of being ostracized by their peers if they express their doubts publicly. The ‘Walder affair’ might just be the proverbial straw the broke the camel’s back. Where a critical mass of devout Jews who wouldn’t dare question their Daas Torah – start question it - that is a game changer. You can not ostracize so many Charedim, many of who are Talmidei Chachamim and had never questioned their leaders before.

Is this the end of ‘Daas Torah’  as we know it? Probably not. But the horse is out of the barn. Once doubt has set in, it’s hard to just let go of it.

If the leadership who at first reacted so badly to Walder comes out and admits their mistake, that may result in restoring confidence in them among the masses. 

On the other hand I might just be all wrong about all this. This could simply be a glitch that will pass. It could very well be that the rabbinic leaders will not publicly regret anything they said. And the Charedi public will eventually simply fall back in line sooner or ;later once enough time elapses and Walder becomes a distant memory.  Maybe sooner ratger than later. Time heals all wounds. Except for the wounds inflicted on Walder’s victims.  Those wounds don’t heal so fast – if at all.