[Avodah] Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz on RSRH's 19 Letters

[Prof. Levine]

At 09:10 AM 8/2/2010, Ben Waxman wrote:
>We aren't robots. Yes we have mesorah, but what is someone to do 
>when he sees that his father's ways don't do it for him, and at the 
>same time, he is attracted to a different path?


I believe the Reb Moshe has a teshuva in which he says that one can 
switch from Nusach Sefard (not the oriental Sefard, but the Sefard 
that the Chassidim introduced) to Ashkenaz, because virtually 
everyone in Europe davened Ashkenaz originally until the advent of 
Chassidus.  I am not sure, but I doubt that he would approve of 
someone who davens Ashkenaz switching to Sefard.

Rabbi B. Hamburger gave a talk in which he emphasized the importance 
of putting tefillin on during Chol Moed. This is the Ashkenaz minhag.

So it seems to me that one cannot cavalierly switch.

Anyway, we are talking here of studying the writings of RSRH. How can 
anyone be against this or say that this does not "do it for him"?

>
>In addition we have a long tradition of sons rejecting their 
>father's mesorah and no one questioned their right to do so.

This statement is not, IMO, true. When the Chassidim rejected the 
mesora of their fathers, they were strongly criticized by many 
gedolim. Indeed, one of the reasons why they were put in Charem was 
because they changed from the Nusach of their fathers.

>
>Ben

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