[Avodah] The MB, Minhagei Lita, and Temimos

[Yitzchok Levine]

Rabbi Menachem Mendel (Manual) Poliakoff is the dean of Baltimore 
rabbis. He is a grandson of the Rabbi Avraham Nachman Schwartz, who 
founded the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore in 1917. (See 
"<http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/36516/Bringing_Torah_Education_To_Baltimore_Dr._Yitzchok_Levine.html>Bringing 
Torah Education to Baltimore" The Jewish Press, October 3, 2008, 
pages 57 & 75. ) After attending TA for elementary school (there was 
no high for him to attend in the twenties) in 1930 Rabbi Poliakoff 
went to study at the Telshe Yeshiva in Lithuania, his grandfather's 
alma mater.  He studied there for 9 years and received smicha from 
the Trisker Rav, the Vilkomir Rav, and the Telshe Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi 
Avraham Yitzchok Bloch. He was a contemporary of Rabbi Mordechai 
Gifter and Rabbi Aaron Paperman, two other bochrim who went from 
Baltimore to study in Telshe.

Rabbi Poliakoff served with distinction as a chaplain in WW II and 
was decorated with a Bronze Star for his distinguished 
service.  After the war he became the rabbi of Beth Isaac Adath 
Israel Synagogue. He served in the position for 42 years.

In 2008 Rabbi Poliakoff published his book Minhagei Lita, Customs of 
Lithuanian Jewry. In this book he writes about how the Yiddishkeit we 
see today differs in  a number of ways from Yiddishkeit as it was 
practiced in Eastern Europe before WW II. In particular, he focuses 
on changes in Minhagim.

He gives a number of reasons for this. He writes, "Ironically, one 
cause of confusion about Minhagei Lita was the Gaon of Vilna zt"l." 
and "Another cause of deviations from Lithuanian custom was the 
Chafetz Chaim zt"l, who included a number of decisions and 
recommendations in his Mishnah Berurah that were contrary to the 
prevailing custom, often without explicitly stating so."  "During the 
fifty years after publication of the Mishnah Berurah until the 
destruction of Lithuanian Jewry communities did not adopt those 
decisions and recommendations of the Mishnah Berurah that ran counter 
to the traditionally accepted minhagim. Not even in Radin, where the 
Chafetz Chaim had his Yeshivah, did the community change the 
traditional customs in favor of those urged by the Chafetz Chaim. 
Hence, many people today mistakenly assume that whatever the Mishnah 
Berurah recommended must have been the accepted custom in Lithuania. 
Again, I will point out some of these anomalies as we come upon 
them."  For more please see below 
and  http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/mb_lita.pdf

For those interested, one can purchase Minhagei Lita, Customs of 
Lithuanian Jewry from Rabbi Poliakoff by calling (410) 358-5557

The statement by Rabbi Poliakoff that before WW II Lithuanian 
communities did not change their customs to conform to the MB raises 
the following question in my mind related to the issue of waiting to 
daven Maariv on the first night of Shavuous so that one has Temimos. 
True, the MB says that one should wait. But, was this actually done 
by the shuls in Lithuania. In other words, was the MB's psak about 
waiting the accepted practice in Lithuania or not?

I certainly do not know the answer, but I would very much like to find out.

Yitzchok Levine


Background

A commonly-held fallacy is that only within the geographical borders 
of today's Lithuania did the various Jewish communities observe the 
Lithuanian customs. The
truth is Minhag Lita prevailed throughout most of Eastern Europe, 
from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, including Belarusia (White 
Russia) and substantial sections of Poland.

Later, Chassidic groups living in Poland adopted Minhag Sfarad to 
differentiate between themselves and the general body of East 
European Jewry who were not Chassidim and
who maintained the minhag and nusach of Lita. It is plainly obvious 
that Minhag Lita was one of the most widespread minhagim upheld by 
European Jewry. Since the end of the Second World War, there have 
been numerous deviations from many of the authentic Lithuanian 
customs. This is largely because most of Lithuanian Jewry was 
annihilated or displaced during the war. Communities were disbanded, 
and there was no longer any continuity in practicing the traditions 
and customs constituting Minhag Lita.

Today, most people rely upon books to try to reconstruct the 
Lithuanian customs, because the living mesorah was unfortunately 
lost. As a result, what is now perceived as
Minhag Lita contains many deviations from what Lithuanian Jewry had 
truly followed.

Ironically, one cause of confusion about Minhagei Lita was the Gaon 
of Vilna zt"l. His erudition was way beyond anyone else's in his 
generation, and his prestige was overwhelming. Yet when his decisions 
and recommendations ran counter to the traditionally accepted 
minhagim, no one adopted them - not even in his home town, Vilna. I 
will note some of these variances as we come across them.

Another cause of deviations from Lithuanian custom was the Chafetz 
Chaim zt"l, who included a number of decisions and recommendations in 
his Mishnah Berurah that were
contrary to the prevailing custom, often without explicitly stating 
so. As long as there were Jews in Lithuania to provide a living 
example, this was not a problem. Today however,
when these communities unfortunately no longer exist, people are 
unable to determine the original custom. During the fifty years after 
publication of the Mishnah Berurah until the destruction of 
Lithuanian Jewry communities did not adopt those decisions and 
recommendations of the Mishnah Berurah that ran counter to the 
traditionally accepted
minhagim. Not even in Radin, where the Chafetz Chaim had his 
Yeshivah, did the community change the traditional customs in favor 
of those urged by the Chafetz Chaim. Hence, many people today 
mistakenly assume that whatever the Mishnah Berurah recommended must 
have been the accepted custom in Lithuania. Again, I will point out 
some of these anomalies as we come upon them.

This teaches us how careful we must be in preserving Jewish customs. 
The Torah requires us to respect and maintain minhagim just as the 
earlier generations loved and
cherished them. The fundamental principle of Al titosh toras imecha - 
Do not forsake the teachings of your mother (Mishlei 1:8)  was
zealously upheld throughout the Jewish world.

Today's generation is confused, searching to find the real Minhag 
Lita from among the many existing customs. I hope I will be able to 
dispel some of this confusion by delineating the authentic Lithuanian 
customs regarding a number of select areas, the first of which will 
be tefillah. 
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