Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
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- The Life of Tzaddikim
- Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
"Please," Rabbi Eliyahu said with a smile.
"So," the director began, "why does a person who asks a rabbi a halachic question have to act according to what the rabbi tells him?"
Before Rabbi Eliyahu had even gotten more than a few words out, the director interjected, "Don't rabbis make mistakes sometimes?"
"Of course," Rabbi Eliyahu answered. "Everyone can err. But it's still worthwhile to listen to a rabbi, because he often has a broader perspective and a deep base of knowledge on a topic, and he can see and know things a regular person doesn't."
The director's face clearly betrayed his dissatisfaction with that answer.
Rabbi Eliyahu continued, "Even though a person has free will, it’s a good idea to seek — and heed — the advice of a rabbi, rather than acting arbitrarily."
The director wouldn't let it rest. "But why is someone obligated? I don't understand. Let the rabbi say whatever he says and the questioner do whatever he wants."
Rabbi Eliyahu just smiled. "Wait. You'll soon understand."
The next stop on the tour was at the control tower. "This control tower is the height of a fifteen-story building," the guide informed the group. "The air-traffic controllers sit at the top, supervising all the take-offs and landings."
The group looked out the windows that surrounded the room. The runways were spread out on the ground below. "The air-traffic controllers use the height and the wide field of vision to see all the planes taking off and landing. The pilots can only see what's right in front of them, so they must follow the instructions of the air-traffic controllers, of course."
Rabbi Eliyahu turned to the airport director who had just been asking him questions. "Let's imagine a pilot sees a clear runway and requests permission to land, but the controller denies the request. Instead, he sends the pilot to a different runway. Can the pilot ignore him, do what he wants, and land on the first runway?" Rabbi Eliyahu asked.
"G-d forbid!" the director cried. "The pilot has to listen to the directions of the controllers. Their perspective is much broader. They see and know things the pilot can't possibly see from his position!"
"Listen to your own words, straight from your own mouth," Rabbi Eliyahu responded with a smile.
No Rabbi
Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu The Path of the Righteous is as the Light of Dawn
From the book The Father of Israel
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
