[Avodah] Tayshvu K'ein Taduru

[David Riceman]

I spent a little time over Shabbos looking this over.  I ended up more 
confused than when I began, but confused in a more sophisticated way.  
The AhS 639:6-9 (especially 8) discusses RAM's question about achilas 
keva.  Unfortunately he doesn't exactly answer it, but he does find 
sources in Hazal which discuss it.

RCL pointed me to RMF's teshuva, which I also didn't understand.  If I 
wanted to make a case for not travelling on Sukkos I would start with 
the Tosefta at the beginning of the second perek of Sukkah.  The Hasdei 
David there argues, however, that the Rambam (who he understands as 
normative) doesn't pasken like R. Eliezer for the very peculiar reason 
that it doesn't take a whole week to be mesameah banav uvnei beiso.  You 
can, he says, spend a day on that and then move on to other matters, 
like l'hakbil p'nei rabbo b'regel, even if it requires travel.  I don't 
know much about RDP's family, or about Jewish life in Sarajevo in the 
1700s, but I don't think my family would be happy with that arrangement.

What puzzles me about RMF's teshuva is that he finds no value in hana'ah 
on Yom Tov.  As I understand it, however, the kiyumim of simchah that 
Hazal recommend are mostly based on hana'ah (it would be fun to quibble 
about keilim hadashim based on the Rambam's remarks about revenge in 
Shmonah Perakim, but I'm digressing enough as it is) - - basar, yayin, 
egozim, u'klayos.  So if RMF is willing to permit travel for kiyum 
mitzvot (and especially in light of his later tshuva permitting 
sightseeing on HhM Sukkos if you are out of the country at great expense 
and have limited time even in the absence of a mitzva), and if 
travelling for pleasure is a kiyyum of simchas YT, then why isn't it a 
sufficient excuse? (RCL asked a very similar question).

David Riceman