[Avodah] gezerot of Sanhedrin

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 05:28:03PM +0300, Eli Turkel wrote:
: As to whether one needs a sanhedrin for gezerot that is very controversial
: and goes back to the controversy on why halachot in the Gemara and Mishna
: are binding. Rambam seems to explain that simply it was accepted by
: all of Israel.

I spoke specitically of legislation: gezeiros and dinim derabbanan. It's
unclear there are any new gezeiros in the gemara, never mind any in the
small window between R' Hillel II or R' Gamliel IV and chasimas hashas.

That's different than asking how pesaqim about the interpretation of
existing dinim are binding. I think the Rambam only discusses pesaq in
the context of the authority of shas, not taqanos.

: Hence gezerot after that time are less binding though many gezerot of the
: geonim were accepted. Rabbenu Gershon who lived later had less power.

This presumes that the power to make takanos existed at all in his day.

: BTW I am not completely convinced of the difference between a prohibition and
: a cherem. Certainly the cherem is binding whether one wants to or not and
: would be enforced by a bet din.

A cheirem is based on kavod harav, not lo sasur. A rav has the power to
tell the kehillah to shun anyone who berates him, or who is in siruv.

Rabbeinu Gershom can therefore sneak in an almost-taqanah by saying that
anyone who does X, Y and Z despite his will is pogeim bekevodo, and thus
is the subject of a cheirem. That's inferior to making a new derabbanan,
even within the qehillah of his talmudim and their talmidim and offspring.

Another, more Brisker, chiluq, is that the person who reads someone
else's mail would be the cheftza of the cheirem, the people who are
supposed to shun him are the gavra'im.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

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