[Avodah] Selling whiskey/bourbon

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 05:36:48PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: I don't understand the question.  Those who have this minhag are choosing
: to be machmir.  They don't claim -- do they? -- that everyone *must* be
: machmir like them, or else they deserve to be punished...

I'm saying that those who have this minhag who then routinely rely on
those who aren't machmir like them aren't avoiding the sale of chameitz
gamur anyway, so why bother?

It's like the hypothetical storeowner who sells all but an affordable
amount of his stock, since hefseid meruba doesn't apply to that
remaining amount.

Once you're relying on the qulah, what's the point?

I think REMT's email better addresses this issue. On Tue, Mar 23,
2010 at 09:40:15PM +0000, R Elazar M. Teitz wrote:
: If I sell chameitz gamur, I may be violating an issur d'oraisa of bal
: yeira'e. If I buy chameitz gamur from a store that utilized m'chiras
: chameitz, at worst I may be violating an issur d'rabanan of chameitz
: she'avar alav haPesach.

I hear you as positing that the minhag not to sell chameitz gamur only
applies to issurim deOraisa. Which makes sense, since I'm selling the
stuff that is only bal yeira'eh deRabbanan. Therefore, if I rely on it
for the derabbanan, the "kenas" as RZS puts it, I'm not saying anything
about the basic minhag.

That's why I phrased it in terms of ein hatzibur yachol laamod bo. The
minhag as a whole doesn't work in the current economy. Why are we still
applying parts of it? Why am I "yakhol laamod bah" because I'm relying
on the big players not keeping the same minhag?

I would also argue that for many people with this minhag, having to ramp
down from their usual stocking up whenever there is a sale at CostCo
and then throwing out what remains does end up a hefsed meruba.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Every second is a totally new world,
micha at aishdas.org        and no moment is like any other.
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