[Avodah] minhag avos

[Arie Folger]

RDK wrote:
> However, the undisputed minhag EY is not to wear tefillin, so I don't,

That is actually not entirely correct. There are pockets of
communities in Israel, which adhere to the noble tradition of Ashkenaz
(not to say Sefarad isn't noble, the point is that they are most noble
in their original forms, true to their messorot). Mekhon Moreshet
Ashkenaz is at the center of just such a network of shuls.

Anyway, when in a shul of tefillin-on-chaul-hamauejd wearers, IMO, you
should definitely wear them (lau tissgaudedoo) and conversely, in a
non tefillin-on-'hol-hamo'ed wearing shul, you should abstain. The
question is really only whether one should then put them on at home.

By the way, it is demonstrably so that this is a very old
Ashkenaz-Sefarad difference, not based on Zohar. Long before the Zohar
was popular, Sefardim didn't wear tefillin on 'holo shel mo'ed.
However, interestingly, it seems that in this regard, the Sefardim
were influenced by minhag EY, while the Ashkenazim were influenced by
the minhag Bavel.

-- 
Arie Folger,
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