[Avodah] the cohen gadol and marriage to a pubescent girl

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Yaacov Shulman wrote:
> And it would seem that every generation needs wider and new
> applications of darkei noam as we become sensitized to
> matters that weren't of import in previous generations.

R' Zev Sero challenged:
> Why?  If it didn't bother the previous generations, shouldn't
> that at least create a strong presumption that it shouldn't
> bother us either?

I agree with RYS that these applications should change according to the current and local sensitivities. Here's a more practical example of where sensitivites have changed:

"Do not defecate in anyone's presence, even a non-Jew. But urinating is mutar, even in the daytime in public, if necessary, because it is dangerous to restrain oneself. Even so, he should turn aside." (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 5:2)

Would RZS say that since public urination didn't bother the previous generations, there's at least a strong presumption that it shouldn't bother us either? If a man needs to urinate, and he is in a city where he cannot find a public restroom, it should be sufficient to turn to a wall on a sidestreet, rather than risk the danger of holding himself? (My understanding of our society's sensitivity is that when driving on a superhighway, for example, it is not sufficient to pull to the side of the road, and urinate on any nearby tree; rather, one goes far into the trees so that he can hardly be seen from the road at all.)

R' Moshe Gluck commented:
> You're making this assessment based on the society you live
> in. If you were living in an era where the average lifespan
> was 35, would you still feel this way?

I thought it was abundantly clear that RYS was speaking specifically about a kohen gadol in *our* society, and that in another society different rules would hold.

Akiva Miller

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