[Avodah] Mechallel Shabbos to destroy a non-kosher phone

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Jul 03, 2012 at 11:00:49AM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
> On 3/07/2012 8:54 AM, Akiva Miller wrote:
>> Who, pray tell, gave Real Semicha to the TAY Rebbe, that he would have
>> the authority to take someone's property and destroy it?

> What has Real Semicha (TM) got to do with it?  Does hefker BD not
> apply nowadays?!  His authority derives, like anybody else's, from
> his chassidim.

I'm not sure why you say a rebbe is a beis din. Yes, they accept his
authority as rebbe. That's different than toanim coming before a court.
I think zaqein ha'ir might be more relevent, who has the power to give
halachic gravitas to the decisions of the tuvei ha'ir -- including on
taxation decisions. But even so, rebbes are usually not the qehillos
posqim. (Of course, exceptions like the SR exist.) You know that better
than I do.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha