[Avodah] daas torah & history [& O vs. C methodology]

[Richard Wolpoe]

On Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 5:34 PM, Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:

>
>
> RRW and I had a long discussion (which eventually reached my blog)
> which touched on why I think C was doomed to leave normative halachic
> process. Among the primary factors is that halakhah requires weighing
> factors, which in turn is a "feel" thing. C prises academic
> scholarship IN PLACE OF normative talmud Torah. This is how Historical
> School thought changed practice. Thus, they may know how to identify
> the things to be weighed (although the few C responsa I've seen were
> downright dishonest in this regard as well), but they perforce end up
> weighing them using their own priorities, not priorities taken from
> the Sinai culture. (Of course, without requiring belief in an actual
> revelation in Sinai, they have no notion of a Sinai culture anyway.)
>
> SheTir'u baTov!
> -micha
>
>

I do not dispute the Above
What I have added is that I have seen MANY Ortho responsa also abandon
Halachic proces in favor of reaching ad conclusion and retrofitting the
sources to fit, as opposed to honestly viewing sources.

Example, AFAIK ZERO Reishonim prohibit women reading for Megillah onbehalf
of other woemn and Rashi/Rambam EVEn permit it for me. Many acharonim
changed this [see Beis Yosef and Magen Avrahm]

I am NOT clainming tht C is rigth!  Chaas v'shalom, I am saying that many
Ortho's  are eqaully guiolty, and I AM accusing Ortho'ss of bashing
outsiders w/o the requistie introspection to see their own complicty in the
same game.  or IOW people in Glass houses....

Beore attacking C' REspnsawritten to a non-Hlachic Audience I would say
criticque Ortho REsponsa that ARE written to a Halchic audience for serious
misperceptions.  {se Zli keidar as another example of same imho]

Also see Noda Bihuda about matza ashir on Erev pesach [no in this case I am
AGREEING not criticquing!] The Noda bihuda says there is NOP REASON to be
machmir erev pesach on matza ashira but does not go all the way [lke Rabeinu
Tam] unlit the 10th hour, but compromises at noon.

Yes the Aruch hshulchan, the Chok Ya'kov the Derech Hachayim [aside from the
Noda bihuda above] all realize there is NO reason EVEN FOR THE REMA to be
machmir on Matza Ashira erev Pesach!  But the Rema has been twisted to
require not eating it after the 4th hour!

Someitmes when I give Hochah to O's some people misconstrue that as a
defense of C.  Aderabba!  I see that O's have at times not used discipline
to keep p'sak within the bounds!

I am also concern3ed that O abandonenmnet of [legitimate] Minhag Avos in
favor of certain textualism as a VERY dangerous precedent at times.   Yekum
purkan and the yehi Ratzon [i.e Tefillas Rav] before birchas haschodesh
[Aruch hshulchan jumps on this one, too!] are much more halachically
problematic than Baruch Hashem l'olam!


-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
see: http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20080320/db60ee0b/attachment-0001.htm>