The Slifkin Ban and Daas Torah

The Slifkin ban is a topic that has already generated a very significant amount of traffic on the Jewish Internet world, and in specific, in the Jewish blogging world. I don't think that one needs to neccesarily add something new to the discussion, part of blogging is just to express one's thoughts. However, I would like to tie the Slifkin ban discussion to what I think is a wider discussion of Daas Torah.

Daas Torah, as presently understood by a significant portion of the chareidi world, is that when the "Gedolim" make a pronouncement / issue a psak, it is true and correct. There are many, mostly outside the chareidi world, who do not at all accept this idea. To some extent, the understanding and acceptance/non-acceptance of this concept is a critical element in the charedi / non-charedi divide.

For many people who accept the "gadlus" and halachic authority of many of the Rabbis who signed the ban, but who may be among the undecided in the Daas Torah divide, the Slifkin ban represents a very serious challenge / problem. If they are convinced that the signers of the ban have done so without understanding what Slifkin's position and arguements really are, then how can that represent a "true and correct" Daas Torah position? If their position on Slifken and what he writes is not correct, then why should other items within the rubric of Daas Torah be correct.

I think that this is part of the reason that this is striking such a deep chord of discontent among many of the seriously committed members of our community. For the most part, those of us here are reasonably knowledgeable about modern science. To simple say that any person who does not accept that the physical universe is less than 6000 years old is a Kofer and Min, just goes against what we believe to be "true and correct". If that is what Daas Torah requires, then maybe we cannot accept that Daas Torah is a valid concept.

OK, enough for now, maybe to come back to this later.

Sambor Un_Rebbi