[Avodah] Seeing G'zeiros Everywhere

[Arie Folger]

RAM wrote:
> But the main point of my post is to point out that I am very unclear on exactly
> what was said about Manhattan. I'm also unclear about who said it: Did RRW
> really mean to write "RYBS", or did he mean RMF?

This is a disagreement among people connected to RMF. I discussed the
matter with a number of people, including RHS and RMF's son Rav
Reuven.

RHS, who had the support of Rav Shim'on Schwab in this matter,
understands RMF to be saying that Manhattan was not, at his time, a
reshut haya'hid, but could become one if it would be muqaf with a
tzurat hapeta'h, on the condition that it is muqaf lediyurin from
three sides 'omed merubbeh 'al hhaparutz, which may or may not have
been the case when he wrote his teshuvot on the matter, though RMF
operated under the impression that it was not muqaf lediyurin from the
three sides.

Rav Reuven, OTOH, told me he understands his father's view as saying
that nothing can be done to turn Manhattan into a reshut haya'hid,
[short of building a wall around parts of Manhattan, to isolate it
from the rest].

The same disagreement is what animates the current Borough Park and
the New Revised and Improved Flatbush 'eiruvin brouhaha, which already
lasts several years, though in the Brooklyn case there is teh
additional dimension of once people had turned to RMF and he
prohibited it, it becomes non trivial to decide to follow another
view. But then again, the matirim claim that the situation has changed
or was not fully presented to RMF, and that Brooklyn is muqaf
lediyurin mishalosh ru'hot (the Navi yards, the car lots, the docks,
etc. all have fences, only parts of Brooklyn has a beach front).

Kol tuv,
-- 
Arie Folger,
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