Excerpts from the letters of Maran HaGaon R' Yitzchok
Hutner zt'l
"Let Hashem, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh, set a man
over the congregation . . . "
Our Torah scholars are the eyes of the nation, and eyes are
the windows to the soul. One can get to know a person
through his eyes and one can similarly know the spirit and
soul of a congregation through its Torah scholars. The eyes
are located in the head, in the uppermost part of a person's
body -- and this is the suitable place for a Torah scholar,
at the head of the community, at the height of its
collective stature. And only when he occupies this respected
position can the community see its way forward, through
him.
*
In all towns, the town clock used to be placed on a steeple,
high up for everyone to see. But if one wished to reach this
clock for some reason, he had to climb a ladder. Clever
people used to give two reasons for placing the clock up so
high: one external and one internal. The external obvious
reason is so that it could be seen from afar. The internal
reason was to keep it out of reach of the masses. Indeed,
the purpose of the clock was to establish the correct time
for the townspeople. People would adjust their own
timepieces according to the time on the face of the town
clock. Were it accessible to one and all by being placed
lower down, say the clever ones in the town, people would
always be tampering with the town clock. Instead of
adjusting their clocks and watches, they would adjust
the town clock respectively to conform to the time they had,
and it would be marching forward and backward all the
while.
To our regret, there are many communities which do not see
the necessity of placing their rabbinical authority "on a
high place." And if he is relegated to a position of low
stature, everyone feels free to approach him and bend the
rov's opinion to his particular representation and
interpretation. It turns out that the position becomes
superfluous since it no longer has any meaning and carries
no clout. The secret is to find a high place, a pedestal,
upon which to place the moro d'asro, so to speak. The
height will obviate the individual's ability to manipulate
him, or to impose his opinion on the moro d'asro as
he likes.
*
Chazal say that if a person has a member of the family who
is sick, he should go to a wise man (chochom) and
request that he intercede for mercy for him through prayer
(Bovo Basra 116). This is difficult to understand for
it is well known that the power of prayer is primarily
attributed to righteousness rather than wisdom. It is the
tzaddik whom one must approach to intercede in
prayer, as we find stated in Rashi in the beginning of
Parshas Toldos: There is no comparison to the prayer
of a tzaddik ben tzaddik and the prayer of a
tzaddik ben rosho. Yet here we find that the Sages
advise that one go to a wise man so that he ask for mercy
for the sick person through his prayer.
We find elsewhere that the prayer of a king's servant before
his master is more effective even than that of a minister
before the king. Is not a Torah sage similar to a royal
minister? True, and even though, generally speaking, the
prayer of a tzaddik who is like a servant of the king
is preferable and more effective than that of a wise man who
compares to a minister, nevertheless there does exist an
advantage in the sage who is compared to the minister.
This is because his prayer is likened to the prayer of the
many, that is, as a minister he represents the public, the
people, rather than an individual, even though that
individual, the servant, may be more familiar and closer to
the king. And we have been promised that "The A-mighty will
not repulse the prayer of the masses . . . " The wise
scholar incorporates within him a portion of the general
body of the community of Israel, therefore, his prayer is in
the category of the prayer representing the many.
*
The Torah study of those who are the exalted ones, privy to
the inner chambers of the palace of the king, permanent
residents in the tents of Torah, creates within them a very
special feeling for understanding the history of the people.
Its soul and spirit, manifested through the events of the
years, lies in their hearts and illuminates their inner
awareness. This is a special feeling, the intuitive
sensitivity of talmidei chachomim to feel the pulse
of the nation through the events that transpire.
