Da'as Torah

Da'as Torah (or Da'at Torah, Da'as Toyreh) (Hebrew: דעת תורה, literally "Knowledge of Torah"), is a concept in Haredi Judaism according to which Jews should seek the input of rabbinic scholars not just on matters of Jewish law but on all important life matters, on the grounds that knowledge of the Torah aids everything in life.

In Contemporary Hareidi Judaism

Avi Shafran, the spokesman for the American Hareidi organization Agudath Israel of America, explains the concept as follows:

Similarly, Rabbi Pesach Eliyahu Falk writes:

Accordingly, Hareidi Judaism espouses a belief that Jews, both individually and collectively, should seek out the views of the prominent religious scholars of the generation (called Gedolim, "great ones", or gedolei Torah or gedolei Yisrael) not just on matters of Jewish law or matters "of religion", but in every aspect of life, from issues of health to secular politics.

Further whereas in declaring matters of Jewish law rabbinic authorities are required to render decisions based on precedents, sources, and Talmudic principles of analysis, a rabbinic authority has greater latitude when declaring Da'as Torah than when defining a halachic opinion. While a halachic opinion requires legal justification from recognized sources, simple Da'as Torah is regarded as being of a more subtle nature and requires no clear legal justification or explicit grounding in earlier sources. Indeed, different authorities may offer diametrically opposed opinions based on their own understanding (Feitman 1995).

In Hasidic circles, a rebbe is often regarded as having extraordinary spiritual powers and is sought for personal advice in all pursuits of life by his followers. The views and edicts of a rebbe are considered to be an expression of Da'as Torah.

Theories about its background

Some observers, such as Dr. Jacob Katz, feel that the idea that these are de facto binding on the whole community is a novelty within the history of Judaism.

Prior to the modern period, rabbis functioned as the primary leaders of every Jewish community. Lay leaders served under the general guidance of the rabbincal leadership regarding religious issues, and often on political matters as well. This was not understood to mean that rabbis, even gedolim, were infallible, but simply that they were seen as the best qualified leaders for the Jewish people (Feitman 1995).

Some argue (e.g. Kaplan 1980) that with the rise of modernity and the wider availability of secular knowledge (and a reduction of commitment to religion), various groups, including groups within the "Orthodox" world, raised challenges to the exclusive leadership role of the rabbis. These theorists suggest that to some degree, this generated a backlash in the Haredi world, intensifying the Da'as Torah concept to imply near infallibility for gedolim.

Avi Shafran disagrees that the concept is a new one. He writes:

R. Nahum Rabinovich, in a recently translated article in Hakirah, disagreed with this view and argued that the contemporary Haredi concept of daas torah is not related to the mishnaic concept of emunat chachamim.

Political impact

The Da'as Torah concept is the principle that guides the Haredi political parties in Israel such as the Ashkenazi Agudat Israel (working under the tutelage of the present Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter) and Degel HaTorah (presently guided by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, both individually and during their alliance together as United Torah Judaism, and the Sephardi Shas party (guided mainly by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.) National Religious Party of Israel also has a centralized board of Rabbis, such as Rabbanim Shlomo Aviner, Dov Lior and Mordechai Eliyahu that formulate it's policies, although it's politicians have greater flexibility in devising such policies.

References

• Feitman, Rabbi Yaakov. "Daas Torah: Tapping the Source of Eternal Wisdom". In: Torah Lives, ed. Nisson Wolpin. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1995. Pg ix-xxviii. ISBN 0-89906-319-5.
• Kaplan, Lawrence. Tradition. Fall 1980, page 248.

See also

• Torah Judaism
• Posek
• Rosh yeshiva
• Rebbe
• Haredi Judaism
• Hasidic Judaism