[Avodah] Niskatnu haDoros

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 05:19:48AM -0400, Rich, Joel wrote:
:> If someone tries to reopen questions because they consider the
:> codification an ossification that runs against the health of halakhah,
:> they have to start by restoring the Jews who were capable of playing
:> with those higher stakes, of being the giants on whose shoulders we
:> stand.
:> And, to look at the same thing from a very different angle...
:>                           we would call that a BG gadol mimenu
:> bechokhmah uveminyan.

: Why is this "start" a requirement? Assumedly to "undo" the start of
: codification, but philosophically I've always wondered why we didn't say
: we'll follow the rules and let the chips fall where they may (i.e.
: yiftach bdoro vs. declaring a need for a change due to yiftach)

Because one rule is that bit in Edios 1 about precedent being binding
until one finds a BD gadol mimenu bechokhmah uveminyan. Therefore, as
chokhmah is lost, codified halakhah will increase. If someone refuses
to collect it in one place, they won't prevent ossification, they will
just cause more loss, and more chumros to be safe would ensue.

The rishonim, having not been through the crisis, are greater in chokhnmah
(with perhaps a handful of exceptions). It's not the SA that cauysed the
change in era, it was the qualitative loss in chokhmah and mesiras
nefesh (reishis chokhmah yir'as Hashem) that forced the writing of the
SA to prevent even more from being lost.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "'When Adar enters, we increase our joy'
micha at aishdas.org         'Joy is nothing but Torah.'
http://www.aishdas.org    'And whoever does more, he is praiseworthy.'"
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