[Avodah] changing nusach hatefile

[Simon Montagu via Avodah]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 4:36 AM, Akiva Miller via Avodah <
avodah at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:

> The teshuva which we've been referring to is Igros Moshe, O"C 2:24. I'd
> like to focus on the second paragraph, beginning on line 6. Rav Moshe
> writes:
>
>
(For those like me who don't have the physical book, the teshuva is on
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=918&pgnum=196)


> "You can't consider it to be a Change Of Minhag, that which you have
> started to daven Nusach Ashkenaz, even though your father - and another two
> or three generations - started to daven in the new nusach. Rather, on the
> contrary! THEY changed the minhag of their fathers, and our rabbis, the
> Adirei Olam, the Chachmei Tzarfas and Ashkenaz."
>
> On the one hand, Rav Moshe did use the word "resha'i - allowed", and did
> not actually say that the questioner was required to switch to Ashkenaz.
> That's the view I wrote of in my last post, and it seems to be RZS's view
> as well.
>
> But I have to admit that Rav Moshe also accused 3 or 4 generations of
> doing something wrong, and it is difficult to imagine that he'd think it's
> okay for yet another generation to continue on that same path.
>

This interpretation seems to be begging the question. You're assuming that
RMF held that changing nusah is "wrong", but he doesn't say that. He
certainly doesn't come over as a big fan of the new nusah, but in the
penultimate sentence of that paragraph he says explicitly "We don't object
to those who made changes, for they surely had a reason that justified the
change".

OTOH, I believe nobody has quoted the last sentence of the teshuva, which
for practical purposes in many cases does have the effect of *requiring* a
change: "When praying with a tzibbur in a beit knesset, for things said out
loud it's forbidden to differ from the tzibbur, and for things said in
silence it's also good to pray in the nusah of the tzibbur".
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