HaRav Gifter zt'l, was always an articulate and forceful
spokesman for authentic Torah hashkofoh. Whether
writing an essay or a letter, delivering a talk in the
yeshiva, or an address at an Agudah convention, he always
conveyed a pure Torah outlook on contemporary issues and
affairs in the Jewish world, with sharpness and
clarity.
His fondness for conveying lessons in the fundamentals of
Jewish thought is evident in the following excerpt from a
letter he wrote. "Although I have many things to attend to,
among them preparations for the Yarchei Kallah in Monsey, for
shiurim in halochoh and for shiurim in
daas, there is one thing, by way of reply, for which I
must set everything else aside. The Rambam makes the
following comments in his Commentary to the Mishnah, at the
end of the last mishnah in maseches Brochos.
`This is not really the place for mentioning this, were it
not for the fact that I intend to provide a little
explanation since something relating to faith is mentioned.
For conveying one of the fundamentals of our religion is more
precious to me than anything else that I teach you.' "
To mark HaRav Gifter's fifth yahrtzeit we are
publishing a handwritten letter that contains important
principles concerning Torah education and faith in
gedolei Torah.
*
I have been asked to give my opinion about a particular
institution for girls' education in Yerushalayim, as to
whether it is a worthy place for parents seeking a Torah
education for girls, to send their daughters to.
1. One of the fundamentals of [Torah] education is to
convey clear and lucid faith in the foundations of belief and
of our religion to the pupil. This is only possible when a
clear understanding of Torah's worth is conveyed to him. They
must know that Torah is the life [force] of G-d's People
— "for they are our lives and the length of our days."
In other words, Torah contains everything necessary [to
sustain our nation's life] — "turn around and around
within it for everything is in it" (Ovos). Even though
this constant occupation with Torah is the lot of males, who
are obligated to fulfill the mitzvos of studying Torah and
toiling in Torah, the Jewish daughter must also recognize
that `everything is in it,' otherwise she will imagine that
our holy Torah is deficient, chas vesholom.
2. It is impossible to appreciate Torah's value
without appreciating the importance of the Torah sages of the
generation, who are the ones who transmit Torah from Sinai to
our own times. A person who recognizes the worth of Torah
sages is connected to the Source of Torah, the Creator,
Boruch Hu. If a person says that he appreciates
Torah's worth but not the worth of its sages, his Torah
springs from his own heart. This is not G-d's Torah; it is a
false, spurious Torah.
3. Bearing this in mind, the type of person who is
suited to be a rov, or a Torah teacher for boys or for girls,
should be obvious — and how much more so the type of
person suited to serve as the principal of an educational
institution. If a principal has the titles, "Rabbi Dr." and
was more of a "Dr." than he was a "Rabbi" even before he
received his doctorate, it should be obvious that he does not
possess the type of pure faith that we referred to.
4. If the principal is the type whose pen, in the
guise of humility and the pursuit and love of peace, spews
out views that denigrate Torah sages and their achievements,
he obviously doesn't recognize the value of Torah sages and
is unfit to educate Jewish daughters. It will be impossible
for him to convey an appreciation of the generation's Torah
sages to his students.
On an occasion that one such individual sought an audience
with one of the gedolei Torah of the generation, the
latter refused to receive him. As a result, the rejected
principal responded by writing, " `Listen to your brethren'
still appears in my Shulchan Oruch," which I view as a
disgraceful slight to the honor of Torah and its scholars,
that could only be perpetrated by someone tainted with
heresy.
5. [Even] before I saw the comments of that godol,
shlita, I was astonished by the institution's brochure,
which I saw contains the heretical teachings of Bible
criticism as a means of refuting heretical ideas. Can there
be any doubt whatsoever that such a thing is absolutely
forbidden? And how can anyone defend it by arguing that the
program was formulated for the Ministry of Education [and
therefore included Bible criticism to satisfy them] and not
for roshei yeshiva? Is the Ministry of Education the
only recipient of the brochure? It is sent to everyone who
requests it, as is customary at all educational institutions.
And not only those who ask for it — the institution
also sends out its brochure together with other promotional
literature to those who haven't requested it. It arrived in
the office of the Telz Yeshiva without the yeshiva having
asked for it.
6. I also saw there that Jewish daughters are taught
halachos concerning agunos, mamzeirus and the
like. I was amazed. Was this also formulated for the benefit
of the Ministry of Education? Is one allowed to write for
their sake that one's institution teaches heresy and denial?
Whoever heard of such a thing from a person within whom pure
faith wells up?
7. Anyone who has been educated in the ways of pure
faith understands that practical lessons are supposed to be
drawn from the fact that one of the generation's great Torah
sages refuses to meet the institution's principal. That
godol realized that after such a meeting things would
be reported in his name that were never said and therefore he
judged it preferable that there be no meeting. His position,
which he clearly set out in writing, would thus remain firmly
on record. He did not formulate his views out of
irresponsibility or ignorance, or because he belongs to a
Jewish party of intimidation as the principal charged —
an accusation that shamefully insults Torah and its
scholars.
8. Whatever the principal writes, or is said by others
in the name of that godol hador, is worthless, as long
as "Mar bar Rav Ashi's signature" is not affixed to it
— as we know only too well.
9. Whether or not we have to accept that
godol's authority is absolutely not the issue here. We
find no difference of opinion among gedolei Torah on
the matter. One of the gedolei hador has simply
expressed his opinion of this institution, clearly
enunciating his reasons. Anyone who asks whether we have to
accept his authority is therefore really only asking whether
we must believe him, and such a question is unbecoming for
someone who has been educated in the concept of emunas
chachomim.
10. I am amazed by the question you raise as to
whether all the bitterness being directed at the institution
and its principal might not stem from the fact that he didn't
consult the Torah sages of the time when it was founded. Are
gedolei Torah suspected of saying and writing untrue
things because of a personal grudge against someone, chas
vesholom? If so, you have undermined the entire Torah,
chas vesholom. What's more, it actually is a point of
principle that if a young man wishes to open an educational
institution of a type of that was unknown to our forebears,
he certainly ought to consult the Torah sages before putting
his plans into action.
We should learn from our ancestors' example. Rav Chaim of
Volozhin ztvk'l, did nothing to implement his plan to
open his holy yeshiva — the "mother" of the Lithuanian
yeshivos — before he'd consulted his teacher, Hashem's
holy angel ztvk'l and received his consent. How much
more so ought this to have been done in our case! The reason
it was not done is only because our "Rabbi Dr." thinks that
he is in a better position to understand our generation's
needs, according to spirit of the times, than the Torah
sages. This too smacks of heresy.
11. In the light of all the above it is clear how the
practical question that you raised should be weighed.
12. I have set out my opinion on the questions that
you put to me, on a separate sheet. I just wish to add one
point here. The fact that girls who have graduated from this
institution have married yeshiva students, etc., etc. means
nothing. By the same token, we would never give our approval
to a yeshiva where both holy and secular subjects are taught
even if it turned out a student like Mar bar Rav Ashi. The
truth, though, is that it's plainly impossible for a girl to
graduate without some blemish that will unknowingly show
itself later on in how her home is set up and how her
children are educated. That we cannot discern such a blemish
R'l at present is owing to the impurity of our own
faith.
