[Avodah] What is a minhag?

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Nov 08, 2009 at 10:07:59AM +0200, Ilana Sober Elzufon wrote:
: Rav Broyde's guest post on Hirhurim
: http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2009/11/halacha-first.html includes several
: paragraphs, towards the end, about different types of minhagim and the
: different degrees to which they are binding.

I personally was gratified by this citation:
> First, Nodah beYehuda observes (correctly in my view) in OC 2:18 that
> when there is a clear minhag yisrael to do something (in this case, to
> have 12 windows in a shul), but that minhag is an obstacle to serious
> religious growth, then if the minhag is not grounded in halacha, we
> ought to abandon the minhag in that particular case. Most of us think
> that the Noda beYehuda’s formulation is correct, and if that is true,
> then all arguments of minhag without any serious reference to halacha
> will not really persuade anyone who is not already persuaded....

> Second, some of you will certainly be critical of the post as
> understating the importance of "minhag yisrael din hu," and this is
> worthy of a reply. Minhag comes in at least two forms. The first,
> which is the subject of the phrase "minhag yisrael din hu," is a
> reference to those cases where minhag serves as tool for resolving
> halachic disputes in the Talmud or the Rishonim....

First, RJMB seems to either rule out my class 2a, binding minhagim
that aren't a community's inherited pesaq, or (more likely) make it much
less binding.

But what I really liked was the similarity between the NbY's willingness
to ignore minhagim that "is an obstacle to serious religious growth"
and what I wrote to Areivim:

> I do too [see the loss of inherited minhagim as a tragedy to be
> mitigated], but I'm currently worried about a bigger tragedy, the lack
> of passion in observance. So I don't think minhagim should be trashed
> trivially, but where these two collide, I would prefer to see someone
> moved by what he does than preserving his minhag. Halevai he could
> acheive both.

There is a difference between eliminating roadblocks and proactively
taking on things that enhance, but now we're discussing shiurim, not
whether or not the concept is valid.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "I hear, then I forget; I see, then I remember;
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