[Avodah] size of amah.kezayit and chumrot

[Eli Turkel]

Looking over various articles on the size of shiurim many of them
prove that the shiur of the amah is about 44cm which is smaller than
the 48cm of R. Chaim Naeh and much smaller than CI. In fact with
the 60cm of CI a kodesh of 500x500 amot could not physically fit
in the Temple area (Rambam says it is a square). Other comparisons
with Hezekiah's tunnel, ancient coins, weights, the old dirham and
excavations which included ancient olives and eggs all so show
that nothing has changed  the ancients used about 44-46cm for an amah.

After going through these exercises the articles then conclude that for
the first Matzah one should use the shiur of CI and a little less for the
others. This leaves me all confused. First there are witnesses that CI
himself did not use this shiur. Second CI paskens that only 1 kezayit
is enough for the first matzah and most they just proved that the shiur
of CI cant possibly be correct. After all the proves the psak ignores the
first part of the article.

I have the same problem with shekia. Speaking to poskim they admit that
R. Tam isn't correct and when forced to (eg chanukah) we pasken like the
geonim. However, having admitted that R. Tam's shittah is incorrect
they insist that one should use lechumra.

Why do some poskim insist on being machmir like a shiur we know is wrong?
BTW CI seems to imply that the doubling of the eggs was accepted by all
Jews which makes it binding. Certainly minhag sefardim and Yerushalayim is
like RCN. Most chassidim did not accept the larger shiurim. I have a
kiddush cip made by my great-grand-father a Regina chassid which is a
"normal" size kiddush cup. I have doubts how many of your standard litvaks
of the old days really used these enormous shiurim.
I always enjoy reading from the sefer of R. Eider where after giving the large
shiur states that this is "defined" as normal eating since eating abnormally
invalidates the mitzvah. I dont understand how one can define as normal
eating filling ones mouth with matzah and then slowly chewing it and then
finaly swallowing it within 2 minutes is normal.

BTW in the bet hamikdash wouldn't they eat of kezayit of korban pesach and maror
also at the same time?

-- 
Eli Turkel