HONOR.
11. When rabbis lacking in integrity are ordained and given authority, it weakens the influence of the holy writings of the Jews, and the writings of the nations of the world become invested with power. Decrees are passed that accord honor and authority to these writings alone, and not to our writings, and force Jews to learn their literature.
In the end, decrees of expulsion are passed against the Jewish people, and they are forced to move from places where they have dwelled by long tradition to places they have never been. This is a form of “exile from the Land of Israel” (because places where Jews have lived for a long time become sanctified with the holiness of the Land of Israel). As a result, it becomes impossible for great souls to be born and brought into the world, and because of this, the secret of astronomical calculation is taken from us and put into their hands instead, God forbid (Likutey Moharan I, 61:2).
12. But when a sage of true integrity is ordained and accorded the title of rabbi, our scriptures are again invested with radiance and strength, and even the nations of the world submit to the authority of the writings of the Jews in governing their own affairs. Then the air is sanctified with the holiness of the air of the Land of Israel, and relief comes from the troubles brought about through the ordination of unworthy rabbis (ibid.).
