[Avodah] shelo asani isha

[Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer]

In theory, I have no problem with the elimination of Shelo asani ishah.

It is a birchas hodo'oh, if you don't feel thankful, don't say it.

What bothers me about this incident is the principle a rebbe of mine, R' 
Shimon Zelaznik zt"l, once gave over in a shmuess.

He related that a man came to R' Yisroel Salanter to ask a she'eilah 
whether he could eat on Yom Kippur. R' Yisroel is said to have said that 
al pi din he could be mattir, but how could he know if in the heart of 
the sho'eil there was not a thought of "minus" (heresy)?

Now, this is the same Reb Yisroel who got up in shul in Vilna on the Yom 
Kippur during a cholera outbreak, made kiddush and ate mezonos publicly.

Voss is dehr chilluk?

The answer to that question is the reason why this incident makes me queasy.

V'ha'mayvin yavin.

KT,
YGB