[Avodah] Minhag Yisroel Mor on Rav Shachter and Masorah

[Zev Sero]

Richard Wolpoe wrote:

> #1  Arvis
> OK one day Arivs is a reshus.  People do it.  Later it becomes a Minhag 
> Yisroel. 
> 
>    1. At what time does it become normative
>    2. is this conversion from optional to normative a Hiddush? A Shinuy?

AIUI it has the status of a neder.  Parents have the right to take on
a neder which is binding on themselves and all their descendants, and
somewhere back there our ancestors are deemed to have done so with
ma'ariv.   But of course a neder can only impose obligations, not
remove them, and can only forbid the permitted, not permit the forbidden.


> #2 Birkas Kohanim
> OK there are at least 3 positions on saying Birksa kohanim
> 
>    1. Every Day
>    2. Every Yom Tov
>    3. Every Yom Tov but NO on Shabbos
> 
> What is the Minhag Yisrael?  Well there is no such thing. There are at 
> least 3 opinions of how to do it!
> What is the Talmudic norm? It is a daily Mitzva!
> Why don't we change this minhag to match the daily hiyyuv?  Apparently 
> it was tried and it failed.  hmmmm

And AIUI it failed spectacularly, with a clear Sign from Heaven that
it should not be done.


> re: #3 - deapite it being a minhag in many congregations, RYBS has 
> insisted that it is a minhag ta'us and MSUT be changed. But Mah 
> nafashach - HOW is it that position #2 is any superior to position #3 
> anyway?  If Tradition trumps text than #3 is as equally valid as #2. And 
> if Text trumps tradition than #2 is just as flawed as #3.

Sounds like a fair question.  How many German communities changed their
practise because of this position of RYBS?

 
> FWIW, the reason given for no duchening on YT shechal beshabbos has to  
> with  mikvah and keri.  That is why this minhag of no duchening should 
> not apply to YK shechal beshabbos since tashmish hamitta is assur anyway .

I heard a different reason: In Germany they used to duchen in special
slippers that they would bring from home, so on Shabbos they didn't
duchen because of gezerat Rabba.


> Yizkor on Yom Tov
> Bishlema Yizkor on YK has a validity - we NEED to daven for the neshamos 
> of the departed. But how come we degrade simchas YomTov by being mazkir 
> neshamos on YT?  The original Cause was nedavos called "matnas yad" 
> While Matnas Yad WAS done for the niftarim as well as for the Hayyim, 
> there was no concept of hazkaras Neshamos per se.  In fact Breuer's only 
> added Yizkor when it came to America.  Thus we see the OLD Tradition was 
> NOT to say it. Is this a Shinuy?

But not a change in halacha.  It's like adding or omitting a piyyut;
a very un-Yekke-like thing to do, but at some point such things must
change, or the piyyutim would never have been added in the first place.

  
 
> Bakashos on Shabbos and  Yom Tov
> The Talmud teaches us NOT To have bakashos on Shabbos and Yom tov for 
> personal needs.  That is the reason for a shortened Amidah/  Yet the 
> prevalent minhag today is to say endless mishebeirachs for all kinds of 
> needs on Shabbos and Yom tov> Is this NOT a minhag Ta'us?  IN Yekke 
> shuls a choleh mishebeirach was ONLY said when a person was close to 
> death's door.  Otherwise there was no exemption on Shabbos to say  
> choleh Mishebeirach.  How come Yekkes get this Halahc and Traditiona and 
> most everyone else just adds bakashos despite Talmudic prohibitions to 
> do so?  is this not a shinuy?

Well, not *everyone* else.  L does the same.  But it would seem once
again that this is not a halacha, but merely a recommended practise
 - if it were a halacha then we couldn't say it even for a seriously
ill person, unless we considered it pikuach nefesh mamash.  I think
RHS is talking about something that is accepted as actual halacha.

-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas