[Avodah] ceremonies in Halacha

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 02:23:04AM +0000, Elazar M. Teitz wrote:
:> But a short while back, I encountered what appears to me to be a direct
:> contradiction to RYBS's position in the Y-mi. Yuma 2:1 (10b) we are told
:> that they held 4 separate lotteries to divide the avodah, "kedei laasos
:> pumpei bedavar", and again at 2:4 (13b), we are told that extra kohanim
:> were used to carry the ayil up the kevesh for the same reason.

:> Opening up http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=pomp we learn that
:> the English "pomp" is from the Greek meaning "solemn procession,
:> display".
...

: While pomp, in its original use in Greek, may have connoted
: "solemn procession, display," in its adaptatiion into the Hebrew as
: pumpi -- together with its equivalent form, pumbi -- does not have
: the connotation of ceremonial, but of public; i.e., its meaning is one
: of pirsum. It is not done for ceremonial purposes, but to enhance the
: public's awareness of the matter.
...
: It is this meaning of the word which is given by all the
: commentaries in the places it is used, including the P'nei Moshe in the
: first citation RMB gave...

I was aware of its evolution in Babylonian Aramaic (Hebrew?), and thought
about it when learning 2:4 (13b) about using more kohanim than needed. But
had the Penei Moshe (which is on 2:2, a little down the amud from where
I was looking) not said it, it wouldn't have occured to me that this
was the meaning intended here. There is no enlarging of the audience
for hadlaqas hamenorah, as pirsum isn't really an issue in the heikhal.

(FWIW, I learned Zeraim with the PM and the Gra (getting two distant
points on the spectrum of willingness to question girsa), using other
sources only as needed. For Mo'ed, I found the Qorban haEdah more useful
as my havanah-check. (For the first part of Mo'ed, Lieberman was useful,
but he didn't get to Yuma.))


In any case, I think the discussion of RYBS's insistance of a lack of
"ceremony" requires first having a clear definition of what is meant by
"ceremony". I think that's the root of RDR's questions about har gerizim
and har eival, RET about omer, etc... (Although not RMYG's -- I would
agree that hakafos on Simchas Torah is an actual counterexample.)

RYBS pairs ceremony with sentiment consistently, eg Divrei Hashkafah pg
78, and we already saw (1) he considers focusing on the white tablecloth
and silver candlesticks of the shabbos table rather than its dinim to
be ceremonial, and (2) that minhag must conform to the structures of halakhah
or else it too would be merely ceremonial.

Here's a longer quote for #1, to perhaps give more of a feel for the
intended usage, from "The World of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik" vol II
pg 228:
    This is exactly what many Orthodox Jews wish to do in New York. They
    want Judaism to be built on ceremony and beautiful sentiments. For
    example, they stress the lighting of the Sabbath candles, the white
    tablecloth for the Sabbath table, the decorating of the sukkah,
    and transporting the etrog in a silver case. They desire a decorous
    prayer service and insist that all the worshipers sing together when
    the Torah scroll is removed from the ark!

And for #2, from
<http://www.ou.org/shabbat_shalom/article/Rav_Showering_During_the_Nine_Days>
"By Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik (adapted from lectures)":
    ...
    Rav Moshe Soloveichik explained that the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah
    381:1) records the original Ashkenazic custom not to shower or bathe
    for the entire Shloshim period. Therefore, the custom was to similarly
    refrain from showering or bathing during the Nine Days. However,
    since nowadays the custom is to shower immediately after Shivah
    and not to be stringent in this regard during the Shloshim period,
    therefore there is no reason to refrain from bathing during the
    Nine Days. The old Nine Days custom no longer applies because it
    was based on a mourning custom that is no longer observed.

This only works if one insists that minhag must be consistent with din. And
it's invoked lemaaseh.

RYBS is a Brisker; he wants halakhah, not emotional or experiential
factors, to define one's Yahadus. I agree the line is blurry. "Beveis
E-lokim nehaleikh beragesh" is a sentiment, it's also the Penei Moshe's
source for the need for pirsum.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I always give much away,
micha at aishdas.org        and so gather happiness instead of pleasure.
http://www.aishdas.org           -  Rachel Levin Varnhagen
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