[Avodah] Where Bread Comes From

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 01:14:30PM -0400, Prof. Levine wrote:
: Reb Yisroel Salanter did his utmost to correct "the dry passionless 
: observance of halakhah," yet, to the best of my knowledge,  he did 
: not suggest that anyone "embellish their practice with other 
: inspiring practices." ...

Well, he told people to be machmir on bein adam lachaveiro, eg with
the almanos in the matzah factory. Also, tefillah behispa'alus.

: mussar seforim to a degree that was not prevalent in the past. Still 
: it was within the framework of traditional Torah study...

And learning behispa'alus. "Withing the frameword" doesn't rule
out embellishment.

Daily cheshbon hanefesh.
Qabbalos
Veadim
The Beis Mussar

I think R' Zvi Miller, who translated Ohr Yisrael (published by Feldheim)
lists 10 new practices (or versions of old ones). (The talk is still
being sold, so I can't make the recording available for free. It's at
<http://mussarinstitute.org/audio-kallah_1.htm> session 1.)

...
: Now you may argue that this is also innovation. Even if it is, IMO it 
: is not the same kind of innovation that we see today, which is often 
: based on esoteric practices.

Because RYS promoted Mussar, not esotericism.

Just as RSRH promoted a semniotic model.

You don't address my list of universally accepted minhagim (minus some
parts of Teiman) that were similar embellishments when they got started.
Piyutim, seder qorbanos, Qabbalas Shabbos and much of the siddur.
Handwashing styles.

The currently more popular ke'arah layout. And that's even difficult
to defend, as the people who first felt inspired by drawing out an
Eitz Chayim of sefiros on their sefer table were defying "ein maavirin
al hamidos".



On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 06:00:41PM +0000, rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com wrote:
: My impression from Hirsch is that
: Na'aseh is the doing of a mitzvah
: And the Nishma is the reflection upon that mitza even AFTER it has
: been performed

: So during the seder we may "act-out" heirus, but the feeling and the
: contemplation upon that ritual may actually take places during the next
: 6 days of the chag.

I'm suggesting one step beyond. That without a compelling argument from
one of the other sources of halachic desiderata (common practice, very
lopsided strength of formal argument), one should pasqen so as to asid
that contemplation.

I also wonder how much the response is formal reflection in conscious
thought as opposed to experiential.

One of the things about Hirsch's symbol-based explanation of mitzvos is
that he doesn't explain how mitzvos have value to someone who doesn't
posesss the symbol key.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 14th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        2 weeks in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Malchus sheb'Gevurah: How does judgment reveal
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            G-d?