GREATNESS: AN OPINION, A FACT, OR A POINT OF VIEW?
"We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos and negativity and bullying in the world and I think if everybody focused on what we all have in common - which is - we all want to be happy"-Ellen DeGeneres. Being a Jewish person this quote really speaks to me. In Judaism every year we get farther from Matan Torah becoming less knowledgeable in Torah so we worry that we will never be as great as the rabbis before us. However, if we look at the great Rabbis and Scholars that led the Jewish people throughout history we see that the things that made them unbelievable people wasn't just their vast Torah knowledge and great intellect. By comparing a modern Gadol, Reb Moshe Feinstein, to a past Gadol, Rabbi Gershom Meor Hagolah, who were both the real leaders of their generation, though we see some big differences between the two we also see some big similarities between them. Rabbi Gershom who was a rabbi in Europe during the first millennia was much closer to Matan Torah and had more Torah knowledge than Reb Moshe who lived in the 20th Century. Reb Moshe had more freedom than Rabbi Gershom. …show more content…
Why was he the light of the exile? Rabbi Gershom was a smart and learned person from a young age. He established a yeshiva at the age of 53 and it was at this yeshiva that Rashi and the Baalei Tosafot studied bringing light to the European exile. Rabbi Gershom is also known for making many decrees to make the Jews a stronger and a more unified nation. In addition, Rabbi Gershom wrote "piyyutim" including some that are still included in davening today. Most importantly, however, Rabbi Gershom emphasized the importance of giving everybody the same respect and treatment. So Rabbeinu Gershom was one of the great European rabbis of the first millennia because of his vast knowledge of Torah and his focus on the importance of good
"We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos and negativity and bullying in the world and I think if everybody focused on what we all have in common - which is - we all want to be happy"-Ellen DeGeneres. Being a Jewish person this quote really speaks to me. In Judaism every year we get farther from Matan Torah becoming less knowledgeable in Torah so we worry that we will never be as great as the rabbis before us. However, if we look at the great Rabbis and Scholars that led the Jewish people throughout history we see that the things that made them unbelievable people wasn't just their vast Torah knowledge and great intellect. By comparing a modern Gadol, Reb Moshe Feinstein, to a past Gadol, Rabbi Gershom Meor Hagolah, who were both the real leaders of their generation, though we see some big differences between the two we also see some big similarities between them. Rabbi Gershom who was a rabbi in Europe during the first millennia was much closer to Matan Torah and had more Torah knowledge than Reb Moshe who lived in the 20th Century. Reb Moshe had more freedom than Rabbi Gershom. …show more content…
Why was he the light of the exile? Rabbi Gershom was a smart and learned person from a young age. He established a yeshiva at the age of 53 and it was at this yeshiva that Rashi and the Baalei Tosafot studied bringing light to the European exile. Rabbi Gershom is also known for making many decrees to make the Jews a stronger and a more unified nation. In addition, Rabbi Gershom wrote "piyyutim" including some that are still included in davening today. Most importantly, however, Rabbi Gershom emphasized the importance of giving everybody the same respect and treatment. So Rabbeinu Gershom was one of the great European rabbis of the first millennia because of his vast knowledge of Torah and his focus on the importance of good