[Avodah] losing 'nishba' status

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger wrote:

> I don't understand the mi'ut of today's poseqim ... chamur posiiton,
> ... Which means that any valid reason why the person isn't fully
> accountable for his decision ought to be a halachic factor. Even
> if they aren't closely similar to a TsN.

I don't understand the machmir position either. My only guess is that those poskim simply cannot understand how a person who can be exposed to Torah and still reject it. Their emunah is so strong that they think it should be simple and easy for others to accept as well. For example:

> And the Minchas Elazar says that the only Qaraim the Mabit
> declared TsN were ones who didn't live among Rabbinic Jews.

I presume this means that the Karaites who did live among Rabbinic Jews are therefore written off as apostates? I just can't fathom that. If the two traditions lived amongst each other, wouldn't it be natural for most people to believe that which their parents taught them? Why would the Minchas Elazar and/or Mabit consider the isolated pockets of Karaites to be TsN, but those who happened to live in the same city as Rabbinics were damned as kofrim? I don't get it.

But please! Let no one think this post to be critical of the machmir poskim. I am in no position to question their ability to pasken, and I'm certainly not saying that they are wrong.

All I'm saying is that their views and opinions are shaped (at least partially) by their environment -- just as mine are. For a great deal of my life, I was aware of Jews who kept Shabbos and would not eat non-kosher food even away from home, but I had no reason to believe that this was demanded of ALL Jews, rather than merely those who opted for that lifestyle, so it isn't surprising that I have a more inclusive approach to "Who is a TsN?" Similarly, it should be no less surprising that those who understood the Ol Mitzvos from their very earliest years, would have no trouble excluding the lazy bums who reject Torah even after some slight exposure to the concept.

Akiva Miller

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