The Chazon Ish: What People Get Wrong When Choosing A Rabbi

So we uh we see that uh the Chazon Ish when he  was uh you know writing this book he's not writing   this out of speculation but rather out of pure  knowledge and experience that he has with uh with   the Torah with other with the public and uh each  and every single paragraph within this book is   something that we're trying to analyze something  that we're trying to uh to learn from and apply to   our lives. So in the um third chapter 24th section  we've already gone over the first three paragraphs   uh which are in essence discussing the importance  of uh fear of heaven the importance of which is   fear of heaven uh that a scholar has to have  needless to say that a you know a a person has   to have uh but uh even more so for that scholar if  they're going to be leading the public if they're   going to be poskining as far as halacha telling people what  to do, what's right, what's wrong, should I go   there, should I not go there? Should I marry such  and such person? Should I move to such and such   place? Should I put on a uh wig versus a shalom?  But nonetheless, these are questions. These are   everyday questions. Should I buy Bitcoin? People  also ask that. uh should I uh go to the movies if   if it's my parents are going to get offended if I  don't come all types of questions come to a person   that is uh dealing with the public and the is in  essence telling us time and time again that first   and foremost every single Jew is obligated to  learn Torah but also part of that Torah learning   has to be Mussar has to be a uh teachings that's  going to refine their character traits and the   best tool to refine find a person's character  trait is the the teachings of Yirat Shamayim the teachings of   fear of the Almighty and the reason why is because  just like the the best teacher for people about   the law of the land is the fear of the law. uh if  they uh you know you could learn all of the rules   of the land, but uh unless you see signs, you  know, in street signs in different places that   if you don't follow, you'll get fined. Or you  get letters or there are, you know, meetings in   the community or there are things that are uh you  know, press releases and so on that tell you about   all of the people that violated the law. And in  essence, not just warning you about criminals that   are out there, but even more so, uh warning you  not to follow their footsteps. This is in essence   the best teacher. Uh fear has always been the best  teacher for people. Uh that's where we learn the   most. And uh the uh the is in essence telling  us that a person that is learned in Allah and   not justify is not justified unless his wisdom is  preceded by the fear of heaven. Meaning that if he   does not have fear of heaven then whatever wisdom  he has is in essence becomes senseless. becomes   senseless wisdom that is going to constantly have  mistakes and bias that is going to lead him and   others that follow him uh in the wrong direction.  Now a uh he continues here after telling us that   this type of person that is learning Torah but  is running away from the uh teachings of of fear   of heaven, running away from the the teachings of  judgment and and and in essence running away from   the truth is going to be living multiple lives.  On one end you're learning about the truth. what   happened to Arak Jacob, Moshe, Aon, David, Lammo,  all of the prophets, all of the sages. You're   going to learn all of these extraordinary things,  but without a clarity of what the judgment is and   how it applies to you specifically and that this  is not a story book, but rather a narration of the   rules and a story format that you have to apply  and relate to yourself. If a person looks at the   Torah and he sees or she sees herself and he sees  and he she sees uh she sees her own lackings and   our own things that she needs to work on, then  you are learning Torah. But if you're only seeing   the stories in the Torah as simply superficial  stories that are interesting, that are mentally   stimulating, that perhaps happened a long time  ago but are not really relevant to today, you're   not learning Torah. you uh might as well close  the book because you're wasting your time. Now,   of course, people think that they know better.  But that's why the have dedicated their entire   lives to the Torah wrote down their teachings in  order for us to know where we're going, whether   it's the right direction of whether it's the  wrong direction. And continues in regards to the   teachings of this fear of heaven. And he says the  following of this matter. It is said the beginning   of wisdom is the fear of Hashem. For the fear  constitutes the deep understanding of the heart,   enabling one to detect the light of sweet wisdom  and deep understanding in all its pleasantness.   This fear participates in the study of any alicik  issue blending with knowledge and understanding   in order to polish it enable one to love truth  and to forsake all crooked and erroneous ways of   thinking. In so many words, the Kazones is  telling us in just a matter of a few lines   that if you're going to learn Torah, but at the  same time, you're going to escape the teachings   of fear of heaven. You're going to escape the  conversations of fear of heaven. And worse yet,   sometimes you'll even go against it. You'll mock  it. You'll ignore it. You'll tell people not to do   it. You'll tell yourself not to do it. Then surely  the Torah that you have is it's not from heaven.   It's not from heaven. Why? Because a person  that understands Torah is a person that loves   truth. And there is nothing more true  than the the scary nature of this world. Amen.