Chasidut על שבת 224:1

The Rishonim (the Torah sages from the 10th to the 15th century) were adept at interpreting the Torah. However, when more recent interpreters confronted the words of the early and later sages of the Gemara, their fondness for their own intellects led them far afield in their understanding, and they departed from the proper explanation of the Torah. It was an, “every man for himself” kind of interpretation. Then it became easy for them to say whatever suited their minds when they simply did not understand the words of the sages. They said things that the sages would never have said, and interpreted in ways that are, God forbid, not arriving at the truth of their words. See how we are sitting in the dust before His pride and calling His Great Name, He upon whom all honor depends! A sycophant cannot come before God, and does not even take interest in the words of the Tanaim and Amoraim. All of his admirers agree to his words and proclaim his holiness, and feel they are justified in their agreement. For a sycophant cannot come before Him, and will not even take note of awesome wisdom of the early sages, not even realizing that the sages were speaking against him. Do we not find the halacha instructing us that even concerning one’s Rabbi, even if he is not greater than him but whom he simply learned from, that when he sees the Rabbi transgressing a rabbinical commandment it is forbidden for him to say that the action is forbidden, but should rather say, “I learned it this way, Rabeynu.” This is as is codified in the Tur (Yorah Deah, 246), where if his Rabbi made a clear mistake, even concerning a verse, you should simply say, “this is the way the verse goes in the Torah.” So too have we found it said several times in the Gemara, (rather than contradicting him), “read to him this verse,” since he does not want to correct him overtly. How much more so when later generations are confronting earlier generations. We find a great difference between each generation – the Acharonim are far from the Rishonim, as are the Rishonim from the Amoraim and the Amoraim from the Tanaim. But all together they build the corpus of the Talmud. Concerning this difference it is written (Yoma, 9b), “a fingernail of the early sages is worth more than the belly of the later sages.” So too is it said (Shabbat, 112b), “If the early generation of sages are sons of angels, then we are sons of men. And if you say that he early sages are men, then we are as donkeys, but still inferior to the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair! (who, though he was a donkey, was careful to refrain from eating untithed fodder.)” And how much more so in our own generation, what is our life, what is our power? We are as ivy on the walls. We are like a mosquito before Seraphim! It is only in the light of the Rishonim that we see light! And in a place where we do not understand their words it is incumbent upon us to know that the deficiency lies within us and the great limitations of our minds. The deficiency and guilt is upon us.