A teacher walked around
a school wearing a T-shirt with '
Question Authority ' written on it. A kid approached the teacher and asked '
Who is Authority '. It is difficult to imagine a teacher wearing such a shirt
in a religious school, but it is the same message we see in the Talmud, Shevuot
31. In court, a student thinks that a poor person is in the
right and innocent and the rich person is liable and in the wrong, but his
Rabbi, the judge holds differently. He is told to voice his disagreement with the judge,
and not remain silent. When, according
to his opinion he thinks that his Rabbi, the judge is making a mistake he should not wait
but intervene and express his opinion and of course in a respectable way. He does not have to be concerned about his
Rabbi's possible loss of esteem and respect and he should not fear any reprisals or retaliation
by the rich man. He should speak out for the sake of coming to the truth and
distancing himself from dishonesty. The Talmud here is not speaking about a
disagreement in learning, but in actual p'sak, how a case in a beit din, a law court should be
judged. And it obvious that the student should question his rabbi, the
authority figure when it comes socio-moral learning, as to
how the rabbi conducts himself in the world. This is especially true where
corruption and a lack of honesty is involved.
The Talmud learns this from the verse
- מדבר שקר תרחק - Distance yourself from
dishonesty and untruths. A person has to
take steps to live his life in a way that he is not forced to lie or be dishonest. Being financially independent goes a long way
in helping a person's be honest and have integrity. In this area religious
institutions are challenged and pressure can be brought that can make one compromise
one's integrity and adhering to God's will. When one is involved in mitzvoth,
good deeds, expressing gratitude , providing a livelihood for teachers and
support for students learning in a Yeshiva , people can feel a sense of self- righteousness
– נגיעה הצדקות and justify ' cutting corners' and permitting
one to be dishonest for the sake of a greater cause. And when the cause involves a woman who
is ' perceived as an agunah', a woman
who is ' chained' because he husband refuses to free her by giving her a
divorce- get, and the husband is being called an evil person, a rasha, the
eyes of people are totally blinded. They then believe and act in a way
that' the means justify the end. '
In fact,
after the Torah encourages one to distance oneself from dishonesty, it warns
people not to take bribes. The Alter from Slabodka explains that we might
expect people of lesser greatness to take bribes and certainly justify it for
the sake of a greater cause, but the great people, ' gedolim', would never do
such a thing. So when the Torah talks about bribery and great people --do not
take a bribe, because bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and corrupts the
words of the righteous - it is not about money. The Alter from Slabodka
explains that the word for a bribe – sho' chad implies that because of a favor
being done to them or for some other reason, there is an oneness, a total identification
with that person. This oneness and identification prevents a person from seeing the other in a bad light
and being the guilty partner. So to
identify with a woman who is having problems getting a get- a religious divorce
is Ok , but this identification blinds one, and one cannot act as a judge in the
dispute between the husband and wife. Each case is different, sometimes the
woman is getting the worst end of the deal and it can even be a majority of
cases, but sometimes the man is the more innocent party. And of course a final
decision has to take into account the children and how the couple will
co-parent after the divorce, so identification with either party is
problematic.
Questioning and
challenging authority is encouraged because it is for the sake of truth and
establishing God's authority in the world and personal growth in Torah. And this process means that people
have to see ' mistakes as our friends ' in the knowledge that אין אדם עומד על דברי תורה אא"כ נכשל בהם - one only really understands the words of the Torah until one stumbles,
makes a mistake in them. Mistakes are also not the problem, because the focus is
on Teshuva, repenting and improving, not the falling, but getting up. People
who are constantly involved in Teshuva are ready to admit mistakes and see them
as a learning opportunity. In fact, it is acknowledged that great leaders are
the ones who have to courage to expose their vulnerability and admit their
mistakes or lack of knowledge or competence in certain areas. The lesson - being willing and have the
courage to expose one's vulnerability is learned from Yehuda and King David. Exposing vulnerability promotes connection and
trust, the cornerstones of leadership. Great leaders welcome those who question
their authority, because as the sages tell us – we learn a lot from our teachers,
but the most from our students and this is not only in the intellectual and
academic area but also in the area of socio-moral learning.
Encouraging students to be more challenging also fosters connection and more respect between teachers and their students.
Encouraging students to be more challenging also fosters connection and more respect between teachers and their students.
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