[Avodah] two fictional sects

[Zev Sero]

On 18/04/2012 4:15 PM, Micha Berger wrote:
> 2- The words say, roughly: What*was*  your minhag avos should be kept
> strong, so we're now telling you to continue lehalakhah. There is no
> mention of the future, or future problems just of minhag avos. Any
> mention of motivation is your own.

Um, what are you talking about?  The letter (and BTW where does Abaye
come into it?  I don't see him anywhere) explicitly says the reason.
I didn't add anything, it's right there in the gemara.  "Hizaharu
beminhag avoseichem biydeichem, zimnin degazri hamalchus gezeira,
ve'asi lekilkulei."

> Meanwhile, Abayei or the Sanhedrin he is quoting do attribute significance
> to minhag avos simply because they thought "minhag avoseikhem" was a
> meaningful label. Even if it's not the motivation (and I think that
> lacking any other motivation mentioned, it is intended as such), it
> is still a source implying the concept existed.

Of course the concept existed: they had parents, and those parents
did things in a particular way, so the concept of "the way your parents
did it" existed.  How could it not?  But it's just a description, no
more significant than "your neighbour's custom", or "the custom of the
people in the next town".  This minhag happened to be that of the
Bavlim's ancestors.

-- 
Zev Sero
zev at sero.name