re: Techeiles Headlines
In Rabbi Dovid Lichtenstein’s podcast on the newly discovered Techeiles (we previously recommended checking out here), there was quite a shocking discussion with one of the interviewees, Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein. Rabbi Eisenstein is a student of Rabbi Elyashiv and is involved in opposing fake Jewish conversions.
Here is the relevant portion (thanks to our reader, Rabbi A.S. for the recording!):
Instead of answering to the point; is the identification of Techeiles with murex trunculus valid or invalid, he boldly opposed the mitzvah, because of the antinomian “Chadash assur min hatorah” expression.
Rabbi Eisenstein further complains that Chas Veshalom, Techeiles might lead to observing other mitzvos as well, such as prayer on Har Habayis (or even worse, the unspeakable, unmentionable, unlinkable…). Right. As Rabbi Brand notes (here maybe?), the goal of tzitzis is, indeed, to lead to the observance of all the rest of the mitzvos!
והיה לכם לציצת וראיתם אתו וזכרתם את כל מצות ד’ ועשיתם אתם ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זנים אחריהם
למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי והייתם קדשים לאלהיכם
This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray.
So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments and you shall be holy to your God.
Rabbi A.S. quotes Rabbi Eisenstein saying he’s “Baruch Hashem” (!) not an expert on the topic, but Techeiles is a “mageifa” which “must be stopped”, since “wearing Techeiles, even if it’s the right Techeiles, is not as big of a mitzvah as the huge mitzvah of listening to the gedolim (well, which ones?!).”
In other words: ידע דאסור וקא טעי במצוה לשמוע דברי חכמים.
And the always-popular, “If Y is true, how come Rabbi X doesn’t say so?”
Of course, his rabbi, Rabbi Elyashiv himself, too, didn’t bother investigating anything either, for the very same nonsense reasons (as is clear in his sole, infamous four-paragraph [mis]treatment of the topic in Kovetz Teshuvos). He was admittedly not “aware of the re’ayos (proofs)”! The same intentional ignorance is certainly the case for most other current Torah scholars. About this Chazal say ערבך ערבא צריך!
Rabbi Eisenstein’s idea of Masores is insane (and he ignores the decrees against wearing Techeiles).
By the way, the pernicious arrogated “Posek Hador” political entity (arguably misapplied to the wrong people, to boot) violates the only true Halachic authority, each Jew’s decentralized, voluntary “Mara De’asra”, Rosh Yeshiva, etc. Of course, that’s part of the point of the PH idea.
Sorry, the above is not orderly; no time.