[Avodah] Pesak vs Eitzah

[Micha Berger]

One of the issues that come up in the discussions about women as rabbis
is the formal definition of hora'ah. If someone (like myself) wishes to
claim that there is a qualitative difference between hora'ah given by a
rav and advice given by someone else, it's kind of important to pin down
the nafqa mina lemaaseh.

Well, AhS Yomi seems to have touched on one such difference -- CM 25:5.
CM 25 discusses when a BD can reverse its decision. If the error is in
established halakhah, yes. But if it's in a subject that required shiqul
hadaas... it depends on whether the dayanim are stam Jews, mumchim, or
the gadol sheba'ir.

But in se'if 5 he writes about mistakes in issur veheter, and how hora'ah
differs from din.

If a mumcheh gives hora'ah that follows a valid shitah that happens
not to be the shitah that was nispasheit, it's hora'ah and he cannot
normally back out. (Without the backing of a gadol dechakham yafeh, as
he has more authority to define the town's pesaqim).

Hora'ah isn't just informing someone of the din. It *creates* a din.
His words are what defines which valid answer is the correct one.
In contrast, your learned friend giving advice can err. Even if every
other chicken in your town in this condition would be kosher, this
chicken is treif.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Take time,
micha at aishdas.org        be exact,
http://www.aishdas.org   unclutter the mind.
Fax: (270) 514-1507            - Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, Alter of Kelm