[Avodah] mimeticism

[Eli Turkel]

Rav Krumbein from the Gush has an interesting ongoing series of notes on
the Gra. The latest was on the Gra and customs. He points out that the
concept of relying on custom is an ashkenazi idea and sephardi poskim never
relied on local custom to decide halacha. However, in Ashkenaz starting
with Baale Tosafot it was stressed that local custom sometimes overrides
the Talmud or to put it a different way, sometimes the Talmud needs to be
re-interpreted against the simple pshat so that it doesnt contradict the
local custom.

One example he gives is piyut. Tosafot stress the importance of Eliezer
haKalir even stating that he is a Tanna (not reasonable) and so accepted
piyutim and explained why it is not an interruption. This was expanded by
other ashenazi rishonim who wrote their own piyutim. OTOH sefer ha-Ittim
castigates those who add words of praise not in their proper time. Piyutim
originated in EY flourished in Italy and then Germany but were condemned in
Bavel.
Rabbenu Tam has a long teshuva defending piyutim.

A second example is the attitude towards martyrdom. During the first
crusade Jews along the Rhine took their own lives and even murdered
relatives to prevent their baptism. Though very problematic from a halachic
viewpoint these people were considered great martyrs and even super-human
by later Ashkenazi Jews. Much later another Jew did the same but after
killing his family was saved and the question came to Maharam miRotenberg.
Maharam basically says he knows of no heter but given the righteous
intentions and the precedent of 1096 exempts the man from needing atonement.

Rav Krumbein attributes this extra respect to custom against the Talmud to
the traditions that Ashkenazi Jewsry received from Italy and EY especially
in the early years when the hold of Talmud Bavli was not as strong.  Prof.
Haim Soloveitchik attributes to the collective consciousness of the events
of 1096.

In any event the Gra severley limited this approach and refused to accept
customs that he could not trace back to the gemara even when rishonim tried
to rationalize them.  Hence, the Gra severely restricted the piyutim that
could be recited


-- 
Eli Turkel
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