[Avodah] New [Chabad] Ritual Bath Opens in Northern Tel Aviv

[Zev Sero]

On 18/10/2010 10:07 AM, Micha Berger wrote:

> L insists on using bor al gabei bor, rather than the standard hashakah.
> I don't think it's a matter of din or even halachic preference; rather,
> like the straight-armed menoros, something the rebbe said became a
> symbol of who they are. The Rebbe Rashab designed a bor-al-gabei-bor,
> and now it's a Lub "thing". I only have it on say-so that there is no
> actual halachic/hashkafic argument for the preference.

That is very much not the case.  It is definitely a halachic preference,
and the halachic argument seems water-tight, if you'll pardon the pun.
BABG is the design that seems to satisfy all known opinions of rishonim,
in the most mehudar fashion possible.



> In a BAGB, the otzar is underneath the immersion pool. This keeps the
> cold otzar from freezing the person in the miqvah, since cold water will
> stay to the bottom. However, it also implies that there is less mixing of
> waters than in other designs, making it an inferior design according to
> some posqim (based on the Raavad's require "nosei se'ah venoteil se'ah"),
> see the Shakh YD 201:63.

On the contrary.  You have the Raavad backwards; he (alone) holds that
mixing the water too much will make the mikveh pasul!  The lack of mixing
in BABG is a deliberate feature, in order to accommodate the Raavad,
since in mikvaot we try to accommodate as many shitos as possible, even
daas yachid.

  
> IOW, I do not know of an L reason (other than comfort and pride in one's
> rebbe) to actually prefer a BAGB. I do know of halachic reasons for a
> non-L to prefer going to another one.

Do tell.  I have never heard of any such reason.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                      - Margaret Thatcher