[Avodah] Education - was RAYK and the end of chol

[Micha Berger]

I am not touching (on list) the central issue of halachic process,
as I feel RRW and I are stuck in circles on that one.

On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 09:35:54AM -0400, Richard Wolpoe wrote:
: I have been intending to post the Aruch hashulchan's critique of custom's in
: hilchos Megillah. Now the AhS is considered highly pro-mimeitc but he makes
: some very  specific [harsh?] parameters as to waht minhaggim oare valid.
: Rema rejects certain Minhaggim - which is why I trust his judgment when he
: supports a Minhag- becayse his reaction is NOT knee-jerk but a considered
: opininion.

The AhS isn't really "pro mimetic", or else he would assume people pasqen
by seeing what's done, not by hitting books like AhS.

Rather, he believes in the formal ("textual") authority of minhag avos.
Perhaps even using the assumption that minhag avos can be taken as
evidence of undocumented formal pesaqim (or ones that were documented,
but the teshuvah/seifer was lost). Much like historians' claims about
minhag Ashkenaz coming from a parallel mesorah to the stream that produced
the Bavli, that was less completely recorded in the midrashei halakhah
and the Y-mi.

IOW, mimeticism is knowing what a kezayis is from memory of what tatty
ate at his seider, what zeidi ate, what the rav took in shul, etc...
Textual use of minhag avos is defending RCN's kezayis over the CI's
because those people must have relied on something.

Which is why the bulk of the AhS is finding textual support of pesaqim,
even when it's clear that the conclusion is overwhelmingly whatever was
the usual practice in Litta.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 24th day, which is
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