[Avodah] forums for pesak

[Shlomo Pick]

Off list someone suggested discuss how to deal with the issue of the
need for an earlier minyan on Shavuot especially the issue of za'ar had
been raised.

I think that the following ground rules should be in place.

When one calls for changes in orthodox practices beause of za'ar and
related issues in a public forum, you eventually get aliyot for women,
maharit's for men and women, you get Conservative hechsherim who are
more interested in public ethics than kashrus, you get other great things.

Rav Moshe zt"l was opposed to teshuvot in journals because they are not
for the public forums. If one has a ta'anah, and a good one at that,
so in such a case that person should quietly go to a poseik or posekim,
explain the situation, and let them go about it in their own. However, one
doesn't start a campaign to change an existing minhag mandated by the MB,
especially in a public forum. you go to the rav or rabbonim who have the
responsiblity to see what the issues are, take them into consideration,
and then let them make the decision. they may decide to pass the buck
to even higher authorities, especially when issues of za'ar, venerable
minhag, public policy, etc. are concerned.

However, when one begins to make a public issue out of it, in effect
you will start looking for that friendly posek which itself is becoming
an issue.

I may have sounded off in my last posting but sometimes such a geshrei
is necessary to wake people up to the implications of campaigns on behalf
of za'ar habriyot, which every authoritative poseq in reality takes into
account. Sometimes the posek's response is not to one's liking, but as
I reiterate, the true poseq, the gedolei hador veposekim are indeed
sensitive to all these issues, and again there is no need for books,
agendas or campaigns, to move them.

shlomo pick