[Avodah] kezayit

Eli Turkel via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Fri Apr 3 04:15:20 PDT 2015


> 1- Is "kezayis" a constant volume, or is it pinned to the average olive,
> or perhaps the average among some subset of breeds of olive as breeding,
> care and climate change?

archaeology shows that the olive has not changed dramatically over the
millenia


> 2- If kezayis is a constant volume, do all the accepted overestimates
> performed and accumulated one atop the other unwind when we have more
> information about chazal's zeisim?

Not all communities accepted these various shitot. I can understand some
overestimates for being conservative but factors of 5-10 larger seem
overdone.
This is especially true if one stuffs the matza into ones mouth and
swallows together which becomes "achila gasa".
In general the problem with the huge shiurim is that it is very difficult
for many people.

><Such as asking (as I did in passing in #1) which subset of olives to
> average.

Which is the reason to be on the conservative side and use the largest size
olives which is still on the order of 17cc and not 50cc.

[Email #2]

> Or do we say that the bottom of the
> range of measurments that dominate common pratice in one's qehillah is
> binding as pesaq, and one can't just ignore the now huge safety margin?

Reminds of a story I read on the recent 20th yahrzeit of RSZA.
RSZA came up with 2 chumrot for the seder both related to the length
of maggid being a problem for kiddush bemkom seudah and the bracha over
the wine.

His mechutan R Elyashiv accepted the chumrot and rushed his maggid while
RSZA didnt accept his own chumrot in practice on the grounds that this
was not the minhag of Israel over the generations.

-- 
Eli Turkel



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