right or left

Interesting about sifre versions. As Rashi is not quoting be eine einecha, maybe he also had a different girsa? But such important methodological question can’t hang on a girsa of one sifre, thanks for bringing additional sources.

Nehama Leibowitz brings Haketav Vehakabbalah: but if you are absolutely certain tha they are mistaken, the Talmud has already instructed you not to listen to them in the event of them calling the right, left etc – Rashi’s words needs amending.

I also see someone musing on the Ramban’s position that one can have his own opinion until he presented his argument to BDG, that the goal is unity. So, the one who disagrees should go and make his argument. A relevant case that also talks about unity – Mishna Rosh Hashona where R Gamliel forces R Yehoshua to violate – arguably – Yom Kippur.

So, if we apply unity criterion – it may not be appropriate to Jewry in general with such large division on many social issues, but it can apply to a specific community. If you are member of a homogeneous kehilah, you need to be mindful of the unity.

A question – so what if I do not confront the Rav?

It could be that I am just full of myself in certain area of halakha or chochma and I don’t think Rav feels the same or I have more serious reasons. Let’s say I respect him in many aspects and his deep Torah learning, but I recognize his limitations? For example, he would not pasken against his roshei yeshovos directly even as his learnign in general is wider than theirs; or he will be in a difficult social position if the psak goes against community parnasim; or the psak will cause mahlokes if publicized – and he may not trust me to keep the secret psak…

So, in the case where I am able to confront but do not – do I still have a license to carry my own opinion?

Menachem, this seems to be saying – also listen to a shofet, even if he is not so much chacham? Yiftah?

Smerel, it is a good point about machlokes. Maybe, this is what Rashi and others presume without saying so explicitly – that we are discussing open communal behaviors, not private matters (as is the overall theme of the psukim around this).

Even in public matters, there might be ways to hold your own, without causing a machlokes. I once heard a Talmid Chacham talking at a conference for a certain social problem. He described what he does and then pointed to the head of a bigger organization sitting on the panel and said – Rav suggested that we join our efforts, but I prefer to run my own for which I can be fully responsible. That is, he clearly disagreed on something, but did not want to publicize the disagreement, just the fact that his group is doing things the way he thinks is kosher.

smerel, this is another good hiluk, thanks – in which topics to listen. While, as I mentioned before, my daas Torah paskens that there is no daas Torah, I still think that we should not limit which topics are of interest to Torah. Tzedek Tzedek tirdof alone would include anything that affects social issues. As another example, a group of Rabbonim offer job search advise at the end of Kiddushin (not just the often repeated last one that one should only learn Torah).