[Avodah] Sephardi-ism: some food for thought

[David Riceman]

Chana Luntz wrote:
> Well it is more than that, because, stepping back from the
> Askenazi/Sephardi divide, the question really becomes - to what extent
> is it appropriate to ignore what has previously been said.  The argument
> for those who list shitos is that we stand on the shoulders of giants,
> so how can we not take what they say into account - and so even if you
> want to disagree based on lomdus, it is important to grapple with those
> of your forebears and contemporaries who appear to say differently (or
> to find comfort from those that disagree).
>   
I wonder whether the importance of precedent has anything to do with it, 
in which case I'd expect to find towns (or whatever the unit of custom 
is) which generate their own Rabbanim more interested in precedent than 
towns where Rabbis are imports.

David Riceman