Daas Torah & The Inquiring Mind

In my mind, Daas Torah and free-thinking are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, they are complimentary and each necessary in the fruitful search for truth. Of course, I don't define Daas Torah as asking a Rabbi to make all one's decisions either. There is a time to ask and a time not to ask. May we all be blessed to be able to distinguish the times.

I personally don't have a problem with the ideal of Daas Torah in terms of recognizing that there are people who understand more than I do. On the other hand, I don't believe that someone else's Daas Torah negates the validity of my own Daas Torah (even in a relatively underdeveloped state). If another person's "Daas Torah" becomes an obstacle to the development of my unique "Daas Torah", then I would question the advisor's motive and surely doubt that the advisor was answering from a position of "Daas Torah". Additionally, when someone suggests I abdicate my mind to an advisor's will - this is a clear red flag that Daas Torah is not the source of that advice.

Human beings are given a mind to think with. Consequently, we are essentially commanded to use our minds to do just that.

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