[Avodah] FW: R Tzadok-TSBP

[Allen Gerstl]

R' Michael Makovi wrote:
:: It is for this reason that Rabbi Angel, following Rabbi Hayim David
:: Halevi. said that while one may be as personally strict as he desires,
:: he must nevertheless respect the lenient opinions. ...


On June 23rd, 2009 R' Micha Berger wrote:
:The other acharonim's opinions on giyur can actually be gone, closed
:options, and yes, declared invalid except possibly as a snif lehaqeil
:beshe'as hadechaq -- assuming other snifim can be found. You don't have a
:"full right to follow" whomever you want. Doubly so on an issue that has
:impact ledorei doros far beyond the sho'eil and the meishiv's community
:of followers.

:The opinion may be "valid" in the sense of a qiyum of Talmud Torah, but
:someone relying on them needs to prove that consensus hasn't taken them
:off the poseiq's table. *That* needs to be RMAngel's central theme, not
:that these neglected pesaqim existed, some of them made by great men
:who did not have the fortune of having a major impact on the flow of
:halachic development. (And RMM could have noticed that in his need to
:tell us who they are.) Compared to a commonly-followed understanding of
:the Rambam?
_____________________________
Some comments:

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to read RMB's beautiful
description of the development of our knowledge of Halacha and his analogies 
to developments in our knowledge of Physics.

I would, however, respectfully take issue with his description of the
(mostly theoretical) STATUS of minority opinions (but only when such 
are those of Rishonim and Achronim).
In the usual course such minority opinions admittedly are only able to be 
utilized in the manner that is described by RMB as their each being (merely) 
a "snif lehaqueil" (and I can personally recall shiurim with the late posek,
Rav Gedalia Felder, z"l in which he provided examples of such usage as he does 
in his Teshuvot,Yesodei Yeshurun).
 
However, please see Rav Moshe's Teshuva in Igrot Moshe[1], 
Yoreh Deah 1, No. 101, that I submit provides the best 
THEORETICAL understanding.


Thus we are told that in rare cases of a great posek having "raayyot nechonot"
(and such certainly would not include the use of sociology of knowledge but
true halachic raayot) the opinion of the posek (which 
might include such a minority opinion) may yet
become more than merely a snif lehakeil. 
Rav Moshe brings the caveat that such must not be against the SA given the accepted 
status of the SA. (See similarly SA:CM25)  


I fully realize that only someone of the knowledge, ability and stature of a
Rav Mosheh would still utilize this method and then only in rare situations 
(and those persons of lesser knowledge, ability and stature who try to do so 
are misguided) however this concept is still important for an understanding of 
the nature of pesak.


KT
Eliyahu