RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Perkei Avot
Chapter 1:16
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
First of all we don’t know it all. When in doubt consult the professionals so to speak. Not to say that Rabbi’s know it all, but that is partly what they are there for is to help out when we have question about the Torah. I am sick of this Christian lame excuse saying, “We don’t need Rabbi’s, we have the Holy Spirit which guides us in all truth.” Yeah, so what, we have the Ruach HaKodesh too, who guides us into all truth. But when we do not consult a Rabbi or others, we disconnect from the Body of Messiah, the Body of worldwide Jewry and we take on a lone ranger mentality. This is a sly tactic of the evil one to separate us from the flock and set us up for a fall. Rav Sha’ul said that we are a body, all members of the same body who need to work with and rely on each other.
Rabbis have loads of academic, traditional and life experience to totally evaluate the issue at hand and give you a solid answer. If you get lazy and say, “I’ll let the Spirit tell me.” You set yourself up for problems truly discerning the Spirit and another spirit may take advantage of your naivety and whisper an answer to you that is not of God and one ends up relying on their own feelings and calling it the Word of God. May we never tread so close to hypocrisy and blasphemy as such! God, from the time of Moshe (Moses) till now, gave us leaders to help us along. The Ruach comes in, in a pinch to help us with snap decisions we must make, but when we are working out a Torah or halachic issue, please consult a trusted Rabbi if at all possible.
Shalom,
--Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
