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I heard that the Be'er Moshe (Debreciner Rav) wrote that one should not read the Torah of the Rav since it can bring one into the wrong haskafos. Does anyone know where this can be found in his teshuvos (if he indeed write that)?

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    I don't think that would be a novel opinion for a Brooklyn based Rabbi. Especially in that community. But here's a +1 cause it would be interesting to see.
    – user6591
    Jan 2, 2020 at 17:47
  • Coincidentally, I just saw that R. Aryeh Lebowits referenced this responsum in a recent shiur.
    – Alex
    Jan 5, 2020 at 18:51

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It may be a reference to this responsum:

Be'er Moshe 8:3:3

וא"כ מסתבר שכמו שאסור ללמוד מהם פה אל פה כמו כן אסור ללמוד מספריהם ואין לחלק ולומר דדוקא מפיהם אסור ללמוד שמא ילמוד ממעשיהם (עיין מפרש"י חגיגה (ט"ו ב') ד"ה גדול היודע ליזהר שלא ילמוד ממעשיו) משא"כ הלומדים מספריהם אין שום חשש שילמוד ממעשיהם זה טעות מוחלט חדא דשפיר יש לחוש שילמוד ממעשיהם אחר שיראה בספר גדולתו בתורה יטעה ויאמר שבודאי בכחו הגדול בירר ששרי להיות מהציונים או מהמסרחים וכיוצ"ב או למשל מי שילמוד מספר שמחברו ראש ישיבה באיזה ישיבת יוניווערזיטי ויראה רוב בקיאותו בתורה ח"ו יאמר בודאי שרי להיות ממחנכי ישיבה יוניווערזיטי ושרי ללמוד שם מאחר שרב גדול בתורה כמותו עומד בראש שבאמת פיגול ומתועב הוא לנו כידוע ומפורסם

And if so, it is logical that just as it is forbidden to learn from them orally it is similarly forbidden to learn from their books. And we should not differentiate and say that it is only oral learning that is forbidden [because of the concern] that he might learn from his actions (see Rashi Chagigah 15b s.v. gadol – "who knows to be careful not to learn from his actions"), as opposed to learning from their books where there is no concern whatsoever of learning from their ways. This is a clear mistake. First of all, because there is in fact a concern that he will learn from their ways. When he sees in the book his greatness in Torah, he will err and say that he certainly clarified with his strength in Torah that it is permitted to be a Zionist or a Mizrachist or the like. Or, for example, one who learns from the book whose author is a rosh yeshivah in some Yeshiva University, and he will see his broad knowledge of Torah, he might God forbid say that it is certainly permitted to be a teacher at Yeshiva University and it is permitted to learn there since a rabbi great in Torah like him is at its head, when in fact it is defiled and abominable to us as is widely known.

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    מהמסרחים is literately "from the smellies" not "from the Mizrachim". I assume its intentionally derogatory, not a typo.
    – Double AA
    Jan 3, 2020 at 0:36
  • @DoubleAA Earlier in the responsum he says מזרחים and then applies this as a pejorative nickname. It's not a typo, but since I didn't include the earlier part it wouldn't be obvious what he was referring to.
    – Alex
    Jan 3, 2020 at 0:37
  • (I could only imagine the uproar in the Charedi community if a RIETS rosh yeshiva nowadays used such language about some Charedi gadol/circle. Barukh Hashem for those who don't need to resort to such tactics.)
    – Double AA
    Jan 3, 2020 at 0:42
  • This has to be it,thanks ,I am not surprised that he wasn't mentioned befeirush.shakyoach!
    – sam
    Jan 3, 2020 at 1:13
  • Maybe it's obvious for everyone, but just in case: the text above is not a proof for an opinion, in the traditional sense of the word (although it may seem to be so). Since it is only and exclusively expressing the disagreement of the author, without any specific critiques whatsoever. He does not tell why it is wrong to attend YU, he takes it for granted, as an axiom.
    – Binyomin
    Apr 22, 2020 at 23:00

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