[Avodah] [NishmaBlog] Hasiba, the Raaviya, and a Potential Halachic Sea Change

[Richard Wolpoe]

Given the Raaviya takes a very Liberal view re: Hasiba [Reclining]. He
declines to recline because after all in our day and age, we do not formally
dine on cushions on the floor! This position is well and good - but is it a
a truly Orthodox position to do away with a time-honored Halachah in the
Talmud merely due to changed external circumstances?

The Bavli gives very demanding parameters, lean to the right not the left,
lest one choke etc. Hasiba is very formal and very specific. How did the
Raaviya ignore this? Was he acting like a proto-Liberal Rabbi?

A Sea change occurred to me last year. Whilst slugging along with the Bavlis
10th chapter of Pesachim [arvei pesachim] I took a short-cut detour and I
did the much more compact Yerushalmi instead. There it was - Lo and Behold:

Q; Why must one do hasiba at the seder?
A: Lest one eat STANDING UP like a servant!

Could this alternate Talmudic source have coincided with the Raaviya's
position?
Today I dined my 2nd S'eudah With Rabbi Dr. Kanarfgoel, a PhD in Jewish
Medieval history. I mention this idea and he did not respond specifically
but in general he noted that the Raaviya was the FIRST Ashkenazic source to
have a complete Yersushalmi at his disposal and he used it widely!

On a completely different topic, we have manuscripts in the Rambam's own
handwriting. At times he crosses out a Halachah and replaces it with the
alternate read in the Yerushalmi. Teh Rambam USUALLY is very RIF-centric,
but at times he follows Yerushalmi, probably AFTER considering the RIF first
as the likely Halachah [as above]

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What does this portent in the future? As Artscroll Shottenstein is
publishing a user friendly Yerushalmi, people may see many concepts in a
brand new light. Granted that MOST commentaries attempt to get the
Yerushalmi to jibe with the Bavli, nevertheless, there will be brand new
insights garnished from sources perhaps more ancient than the Bavli. Will
this bring about a Sea change not only in how people view the Talmud, but
will it impact pesak -as it apparently did for the R'a'aviyah and the
Rambam?

--
Posted By Rabbi Richard Wolpoe to
NishmaBlog<http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/2008/04/hasiba-raaviya-and-potential-halachic.html>at
4/12/2008 11:18:00 PM



-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
see: http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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