הלא הדינים צריכים בישראל – הנעזוב אותם? לא, לא נעזוב אותם, אבל נקבע להם זמנים לפי שאי אפשר בלאו הכי, אך לא בהם נבלה זמננו ח"ו
Are laws not needed in Israel? Should we stop studying them? We should not stop studying them. Rather, we should devote to them a limited amount of time, as we cannot do without this, but we shall not spend our life in this study, Chas V'Shalom.
We need people with a vast knowledge of halachic sources and the ability to combine them. Scholars who devote their lives to this are important. They are Gedolim in Halacha. But are they Gedolim without qualification? No. Are they the greatest Jewish Chachamim? No! Shall we give them authority outside of the Arba Amot of pure Halacha? Chas V'Shalom. The Gaon MiVilna was great in Halacha but did not give it much of his time, in line with the above quote from the Ramchal. Can modern-day Gedolim in Halacha be compared to him? Not at all, not in the slightest way. Or, can they be compared to a latter-day Ish Ruach like Rav Kook? Perish the thought!May HaShem protect us, and teach us. We have lost perspective. Halacha is important for Am Yisrael, but Judaism is not about Halacha proper. Judaism is about being close to HaShem. Judaism is about our Midot, about how we relate to others, about the society that we build. Judaism is about repairing the world. Judaism is about HaShem living in our midst, about the Revelation of HaShem in the world.
