If חז״ל is wrong about any one thing, then everything they said is false and one can selectively pick any of their statements. Ergo, anything that contradicts חז״ל is by definition, kefira. That leads to ‘Modern’ Orthodoxy = kefira.
The above stream of logic is basic חרדי philosophy.
I first became aware of this whole thing in the context of the discussion of the International Date Line in halacha, which is a relatively popular contemporary halachic topic (likely due to the book on the topic by Kasher). And the "elephant in the room" of that discussion is that even the Rishonim believed in a flat earth, so their statements in this context don't match reality. And this is 1500 years after the Greeks were aware of the fact that the Earth is a sphere!
I am giving a talk about flat earth, the date line, and Alaska (!) on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot.
If חז״ל is wrong about any one thing, then everything they said is false and one can selectively pick any of their statements. Ergo, anything that contradicts חז״ל is by definition, kefira. That leads to ‘Modern’ Orthodoxy = kefira.
The above stream of logic is basic חרדי philosophy.
Great piece, very interesting topic.
I first became aware of this whole thing in the context of the discussion of the International Date Line in halacha, which is a relatively popular contemporary halachic topic (likely due to the book on the topic by Kasher). And the "elephant in the room" of that discussion is that even the Rishonim believed in a flat earth, so their statements in this context don't match reality. And this is 1500 years after the Greeks were aware of the fact that the Earth is a sphere!
I mourn for the dead kids, who are innocent victims, but מגיע למשפחותם!