[Avodah] Psak in Machshava

[Daniel Eidensohn]

*Chasam Sofer (Y.D. 2:356)* R' Hillel who is quoted in Sanhedrin (99a) 
as rejecting salvation through Moshiach but asserted [according to 
Rashi] that G-d Himself would directly save the Jews. Rashi is without a 
doubt correct that R' Hillel was not rejecting the fact of salvation but 
only the agency of Moshiach... Furthermore, it is obvious that we don't 
accept his view. In fact someone today who asserted that there will be 
no Moshiach because he accepts R' Hillel's view is denying the principle 
of the Torah to follow the majority position. Since the overwhelming 
majority of sages have rejected this view no one has the right to go 
against that majority and insist on accepting the sole dissenting view 
of R' Hillel. This is no different that the case of R' Eliezer who ruled 
in for his community that it permitted on Shabbos to cut wood to make 
charcoal to make iron for a milah knife in order to do bris mila on 
Shabbos. Since the majority of Torah scholars rejected this view, anyone 
who performs these actions on Shabbos before witness and with a warning 
is liable to capital punishment and he cannot claim that he is following 
the authority of R' Eliezer. This that it teaches in Eduyos "Why are the 
minority views taught" is in fact obviously dealing with a different 
issue which there is no need to go into here. Nevertheless even though 
Salvation and the coming of Moshiach are themselves not foundation 
principles that determine Judaism but a person who doesn't accept them 
is rejecting the foundation principle of belief in the Torah and the 
words of the prophets

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