re: #360 LudwigVanQuixote

To be honest with you what happened was exactly what I expected would happen. These people live in very insular communities and vote for who their rav tells them to vote for.

One of them challenged me to back up a point with something that showed more learning like quoting the Rif. The Rif, Rabbi Yitzchak Al-fasi , is another famous rabbi, one of the Rishonim who slightly predates Rambam.

In fact, if you want the Rif, but don’t like the Rambam, that also tells you something about these people. In fact it tells you a lot if you know Jewish philosophy.

He was not at all pleased when the Rif said what I was saying in very harsh tones - in fact, vastly more harsh tones.

But that really doesn’t matter. You might ask why I bothered in the first place knowing that it was likely what I said would be deleted. Well these are students. Some of them deserve to get a chance to think outside of a rigidly enforced bubble. Some of them did too. They were also deleted.

I claim no expertise on Jewish religious authorities, save for they are not infallible.

I do know that A Rabbi E Wasserman, a legitimate and renowned scholar advised his followers not to leave Europe for America, just prior to WWII, instead telling them to have faith.

Further comment is unnecessary.