[Avodah] KSA, MB, AhS, Chayei Adam and other codes

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 12:21am EDT, R Moshe Y. Gluck wrote to Areivim:
:           the Kitzur considered all the opinions that came before him, and
: he paskened accordingly. Sort of like the Shulchan Aruch itself before the
: Ramah came along. The KSA was meant as a practical Halachah Sefer. For
: example, in Hilchos Tefillin he lays out very clearly what one should do if
: a Retzuah breaks, and  is now too short (10:13): he should ask a Shailah.
: Now _that_ is a practical Sefer!!

In another post there sent 6 minutes later (Wed, 12:27am EDT):
:                                                  Reminds me of a story I
: heard about the Chofetz Chaim (IIRC, B'sheim R' Berel Wein). The Chofetz
: Chaim said, "I could have written the MB without the BH, but then people
: would have thought that I wasn't a Lamdan." The explanation for the
: statement was that had he written it in the same style as the Kitzur, people
: would have looked down at the MB. Now that the BH was there, people would
: know that the CC really _was_ a Lamdan, and now they would learn the MB.

I think the need for something more than a code for use as a code is
more than just establishing credentials.

One is supposed to follow a pesaq, not a book. How is one supposed to
know when the din in the code is zil qeri bei rav hu, and when one should
CYLOR (consult your local O rabbi)? IOW, not a question of the opinions
that came before but the opinions that are still around. Examples like
the short retzu'ah are in the minority, frankly.

Truth is, the MB surveys before giving a pesaq, so the BH wasn't needed
for knowing which are the still-open questions.

The AhS suffers from this problem sometimes. While he gives sevara, it's
often entirely explaining the single shitah that he pasqens according to.
Unless you're a purebred Litvak who needs to hold as they did in Litta
a century ago, there are going to be questions you don't know to ask.

OTOH, the AhS by providing some sevara, rather than a straight code
or a code + survey has the advantage of being a more interesting read.
Something as pragmatically necessary as convincing the reader to take
the author seriously.

Back on Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 07:38am IDT (the timezone, not the
Newark-based phone company), R Danny Schoemann wrote:
: As somebody who reads AhS, SA and KSA daily, I would highly recommend
: reading the KSA over and over. I'm on my 7th round this year and I'm
: still amazed by the chidushim that I discover.

: True, there are some points that "we" pasken differently, and the
: MB-footnotes are numerous in some parts, but careful analysis will
: show that probably 99% of PRACTICAL halocho (as in "stuff we actually
: *do* on a regular basis) we all hold like the KSA. Besides, I am 100%
: that I won't go to Gehinom if I accidental pasken like the KSA.

I don't know if that's true WRT KSA 153-162 (in the SA it's YD 153-200)
in terms of percentage of commonly accepted din. And not only is there
a problem lehalakhah of erring in either direction, there are shalom
bayis issues if one's spouse wasn't expecting what RSG pasqened.

And being that there is no MB on YD, I presume there aren't that many
footnotes.

: Of course if you want to be 100% safe then don't learn the KSA. The MB
: will take you years to get through. The SA nobody learns  - after all
: the Nosei Kielim are way too numerous - and the AhS is way too long to
: ever finish. As a result you rely on your memory and imagination...
: and you may be in for a surprise upstairs.

I think finishing the AhS is doable. Finishing it while retaining much
of what I learned when I started... not with /my/ memory. So I still
agree with your masqanah.

: People tend to get distracted. They will insist on using the correct
: Nussach Siddur for Ma'ariv, even though there are about a dozen words
: difference between Askenaz/Sefard, yet they will zip through Shma
: forgetting that it's D'Oraysa and should be said carefully.

: You also hear people saying the introduction to Kedusha
: (Nekadesh/Na'aritzcho/Keser) with great fervor - even though it really
: belongs to the Chazzan - but race through Kodosh, Kodosh. Similar to
: being on expert on all the Hakdomos but never reading any Sefer.

I agree with the nussach issue. (In fact, I sometimes use a different
nusach's siddur than I'm davening in for the purpose of seeing how the
difference in lashon reflects on the tefillah.)

But WRT haqdamos.... For many sefarim, the haqdamah is where the mechabeir
puts the essence of his worldview, and is worth study even if you're not
sufficiently motivated WRT the seifer's topic to make your way through
the body of the text. In a very real sense, the content of the haqdamah
can be more important than that of the seifer.

: In the end of the day it's all about practical Halocho; and the KSA
: did a great job keeping it short and to the point.

Well argued.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Zion will be redeemed through justice,
micha at aishdas.org        and her returnees, through righteousness.
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