[Avodah] Minhagim of the Ashkenaz Synagogue ("The Luach") (5774)

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Sep 04, 2013 at 12:28:16PM -0400, Prof. Levine wrote:
> It all depends where you are located.  6:20 is before sunrise in some places.

But the bottom line there is a a lack in picking a time with no eye to
preceding sunrise.

But in any case, this is part of a general pattern, and I doubt your
use of the word "authentic" had anything to do with the particular
merits of this one practice.

I'm okay with certain communities feeling that there is special authority
to the Ashkenazi rabbis and practice of the period of transition from
rishonim and acharonim. And so special importance is given the Maharil
and Rama.

But why the Maharil's nusach or minhaghim over Rashi's, the Baalei
Tosafos's or the Chassidei Ashkenaz? And for that matter, how much
priority should we be giving mimetics over halachic reasoning, or
halachic reasoning over practices that help foster ahavas veyir'as
Hashem?

Obviously, if the leading poseiq of the American Ashkenazi community
of his period, R' Henkin, held differently than Yekkish norm, it's
"authentic". For any of us on-list to believe otherwise would be to
think we are more skilled at the art of pesaq than one of the gedolei
haposqim.

What you tend to promote as the one right answer for the whole Ashkenazi
subset of the chevrah is only one of many valid directions one can take
the halachic process in. And so REMT showed by example that there are
other ways of defining authenticity. In this example, one that deal
more with the merits of each case than the preservation of one era's
historical practice.

Eilu va'eilu. As in this case, you gave a link to one authentic
interpretation of the mesorah, I gave a link to another. It's not an
either-or, it's two different valid ways to be an observant Jew.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The fittingness of your matzos [for the seder]
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