Can a Rabbi make a mistake?

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner

This article was translated from Hebrew!

 Question: I belong to the haredoi community. I have been teaching Torah for twenty years. I happened upon a book from one of the students of Rabbiu Avraham Yitzhak Kook and read it out of curiosity to understand how he had made such a big mistake in finding positive value in the secular Zionist pioneers.

But the opposite occurred and I found myself enlightened by his teachings. I then read other books from his stream of thought, and I reached the clear conclusion that I had been mistaken in my relationship to Zionism and the centrality of the Land of Israel to Jewish life.

My question is: How can I follow a different path than my haredi Rabbi? I am full of respect and love for him, since I owe everything to him. Moreover, how can it be possible to imagine that so many great haredi Rabbis erred in their opposition to Zionism?

Answer: I commend you for your integrity and your search for the truth. Your question has been dealt with in several books. One is “Eim HaBanim Semeichah” by Rabbi Issachar Teichtal, a haredi Torah Authority who rejected his former opposition to Zionism during the Holocaust. Another is the book “Geulat Yisrael” by Rabbi Avraham Yelin, who was a brilliant Sage, although not well-known. He received approbations for his book from the Admor of Ostrovtza and from Rabbi Kook. In addition, his book “Erech Apayim” was very well-known.

Rabbi Yelin wrote: “Some claim that once someone has accepted a particular person as his Rabbi, and that Rabbi is opposed to Zionism, one must teach in accordance with that view so as not to violate the prohibition against “straying to the right or to the left from what they tell you” (Devarim 17:11). That is a mistake, however, for that verse is referring to the Great Sanhedrin” (“Geulat Yisrael,” page 15).

Quite the contrary, if it appears to a disciple that his Rabbi has erred, he must ask him about this and argue with him until his Rabbi changes his mind (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 242). There are numerous examples in the Talmud and the Poskim [Halakhic Authorities] of disciples disagreeing with their Rabbis.

Regarding the issue of Eretz Yisrael itself, we find in the Talmud that Rabbi Yehudah was one of the illustrious giants of his generation, and he ruled that it is forbidden to move from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael (Ketubot 110a). His disciple, Rabbi Zeira, disagreed with him and made aliyah, as did his disciple Rabbi Abba (Berachot 24b. “Geulat Yisrael,” pp.15-16).

Rabbi Yelin points out, in the name of Rabbi Akiva Eiger zt"l, that in our times, following the invention of the printing press, books have been disseminated throughout the world, and it is possible that a student has studied books unknown to his Rabbi, and thus knows more about a certain subject. The Maharal MiPlotzk said that if an illustrious Rabbi knows the whole Torah, yet has not toiled to understand a particular law, and a lesser Rabbi does not know the whole Torah yet has toiled to understand that particular law, the latter can better arrive at the truth, and we will rule according to the less renowned Rabbi (Shut Meshivat Nefesh 16, and “Geulat Yisrael,” page 3).

As far as your wondering how so many great Rabbis erred regarding their failure to find value in the Zionist movement, our Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Tzvi Yehudah Kook, wrote to a great haredi Rabbi: “I was pained by what the esteemed leader of Torah wrote in regard to G-d’s great and awesome deed in rebuilding His Nation and His inheritance, and His gathering the scattered ones to Israel, in your honor’s rejection of Zionism. It is clear that you are absolutely mistaken regarding these matters. What you wrote is like what Ra’avad wrote in Hilkhot Teshuvah, chapter 3, about the many Rabbis greater than himself who followed a particular line of (mistaken) belief” (L’Hilchot Tzibbur #6).

An obvious question remains: What made these illustrious Rabbis err regarding the rebirth of our Nation?

Rabbi Yelin responds that the true reason is found in the words of the illustrious and holy Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher from Greiditz, who was blessed with “Ruach HaKodesh” - Divine Intuition. Rabbi Gutmacher was among the first to raise the idea of renewed agricultural settlement in Eretz Yisrael. He wrote to the illustrious Tzaddik, Rabbi Elazar Wachs, suggesting the reason for the haredi opposition: “The main cause of the opposition is that even in the greatest Tzaddikim the evil inclination takes control to nullify this goodness. The whole force of evil is dependent upon this - on preventing the resettlement of Israel” (from a letter quoted in the book “Nefesh Ha-Chayah”).

The author of “Chidushei HaRim” (Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter ‎, the first Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim),wrote similarly regarding the sin of the Spies who were outstanding Torah Scholars and leaders of the Tribes but who rejected the settlement of the Land of Israel (“Sefer Ha-Zechut” in Parashat Beshalach, and “Geulat Yisrael,” pp. 8-9).

Rabbi Yelin mentions that sometimes even the Prophets erred. Moshe erred regarding the goat of the sin offering, and as a result of that, he became angry with Elazar and Itamar (Vayikra 10). Yehoshua bin Nun erred regarding the Givonim (Yehoshua 9); the Prophet Shmuel erred when he was going to anoint one of the sons of Yishai, wishing to anoint the wrong one (Shmuel 1 16). Yerovam ben Navat (who rebelled against King Solomon's son Rechavam) succeeded in tricking the Prophet Achiyah HaShiloni into giving his approval to idolatry (Sanhedrin 102a, and “Geulat Yisrael,” p. 9).

Regarding settling the Land itself, the Torah says that “the whole community threatened to stone [Yehoshua and Calev] to death” (Bamidbar 14:10), and Rashi on 14:1 says that the phrase “the whole community” connotes the Sanhedrin. As Chiddushei HaRim of Ger explains, the Sanhedrin argued that living in Eretz Yisrael would corrupt them.

During Ezra’s times, the vast majority of the great Rabbis opposed his going up to the Land on the pretext that Eretz Yisrael would cause the Jews to worship idols (Midrash Rabbah on Shir HaShirim 5:3).

“The greatest Tzaddikim handed over the Rambam’s works to Christian priests to burn… Many illustrious Rabbis fanned the flames of controversy, persecuting and inciting against our master Rabbi Yehonatan Eibschutz, the holy Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, and our teacher the Ba’al Shem Tov.”

“We have likewise heard about one mistake put in writing by a brilliant, holy Rabbi. Due to the author’s greatness, the haredim struggled to understand what he had written, and the holy Rabbi Menachem Mendl of Kotzk, who was a great lover of truth, said that the truth that emerged from this was that it showed the author was only human” (ibid.).

Rabbi Yelin was apparently referring here to what the Maharal from Prague wrote, that there is a difference between two Hebrew words that both mean “with him”: “Imo” and “Ito,” and that when Abraham took his two lads “with him” the Torah refers to this with “Imo,” whereas when Bilam took his two lads “with him” the Torah uses “Ito.” Truthfully, however, in the Torah it is the opposite (see Bereshit 22:3 and Bamidbar 22:22). The Maggid Rabbi Yisrael of Koznitz wrote an answer to this problem (printed in “Be’er HaGolah,” p. 155). Yet the Kotzker Rebbe, who had enormous admiration for the Maharal, did not look for an answer and simply said that even an illustrious Rabbi can err.

Rabbi Yelin concludes, “From all this we can conclude that even a great and saintly Rabbi can make a mistake… The truth is that even the greatest Rabbis amongst the opponents (to Zionism) have no correct knowledge on this issue” (“Geulat Yisrael,” p. 9).

Thus, how fortunate you are (referring to the Rabbi who asked Rav Aviner the question) to have merited to attain the truth from great Rabbis who did not err, faithful emissaries of the Supreme King of Kings.