First things first, I mean no disrespect to anybody and please don't put me on the DNR (Do Not Read) list.
I had this question even before the Zoo incidents, water controversy, shaitel thingy or the Boro Park eruv.
All of the above incidents all had decisions handed down by R' Elyashiv. My question is since R' Elyashiv was not directly involved in any of the cases (I don't think he read the Zoo books, he doesn't live in NYC, etc.) all of his decisions are not based on first hand knowledge but rather on whatever information he receives. Is it fair to issue a cherem based on biased (it's obviously biased because it's being relayed) information?
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It seems from what I've read that a lot of the bannings are based more on the "here sign this" model than on careful review of the primary source material.
That being said, I just made a judgement on these rabbonim based on a bunch of heresay I read on the internet.
But take a step back...we're condemning someone for writing--through quotes of halachic sources--that maybe the universe really is more than 5700 years old, like science indicates, and maybe that's not at odds with Judaism? So these people seriously believe otherwise? It's not just rhetoric?
I wonder what they would have done to Galileo or Columbus. Surprise! The Earth goes around the sun, not the other way around. Life goes on.
The Sun also Rises.
As for the signing of a cherem without bothering to read it, doesn't that mean that all the cherems that are put out by these rabbonim should be suspect? In my opinion, an extreme measure should only be used for an extreme case. (I remember reading in "American Judaism" how the Portuguese shul in NYC was considering putting a couple of people in cherem but decided against it as the risk of being ignored outweighed, in that case, a legitimate cause for cherem.
As for Galilleo, he was sentenced to death and was pardoned only when he recanted his apikorsos. Give UTJ a few more years in the Knesset and I'm sure they can work something out.
"The Earth goes around the sun, not the other way around. Life goes on."
Life goes on, but frumkeit stays the same. That's why we have things like the Slifkin ban, and the total lack of any knowledge of the last two hundred years of biblical scholarship. Frum Judaism was innovative 2000 years ago, but the advance of time and knowledge have killed it. Today, it's a undead zombie, feeding on the brains of its followers.
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