[Avodah] Longevity of Minhag haMakom (was: Simchas Torah & a Lost Minhag of the Gra)

[Rabbi]

On October 3, 2018 9:16:33 AM PDT, "Prof. Levine via Avodah" <avodah at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:
>My understanding is that the GRA never meant for his minhagim to be 
>practiced by the general public,  but only by his disciples. Thus I 
>find it \ironic that his minhagim became widely accepted in EY and 
>are practiced by many there.

>Why didn't those who returned to EY practice the minhagim of EY?  For 
>example,  why didn't they go back to the 3.5 year cycle of reading the
>Torah?

It seems that, despite the simple Halacha, when a large exodus (when they
vastly outnumber the original community) of people land in a new country,
they keep their Minhag and drown out the old Minhag.

So Ashkenazim who landed in the US kept their minhagim from the Alter
Heim (and didn't become Sefardi), and when Sefardim who landed in the
Ottoman Empire after the expulsion stayed Sefardi and didn't adopt the
original Minhag.