[Avodah] Chain of Mesorah

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 02:57:43PM +0000, Professor L. Levine via Avodah wrote:
: Is there a reason why the Chofetz Chaim is not on this list? Is there
: a reason why there are no Chassidishe rebbes on this list?

Everything up to and including Rav Ashi is from the haqdamah to the Yad
<http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/0000n.htm#21> par 21. But at some point it
turns into a rebbe-talmid chain for R' Shach. It's not like it can list
every member of Chazal, every gaon, rishon and acharon. And Rav Shach
wasn't a muvhak of the CC or any talmidim of Chassidishe rabbeim. Notice
(ironically, given the start of the list) the Rambam isn't there either --
the chain is distinctly Ashkenazi.

I did one for myself back in 2009:  http://www.aishdas.org/asp/my-mesorah

Now, how it's flawed: It's two different things spliced together

- The Rambam lists the key baalei mesorah.

  It requires believing that the medrash about Pinechas's centuries long
  lifespan is historical. Then again, the Rambam did, and you don't get
  more rationalist than that.

  But from a rebbe-talmid perspective: Osniel ben Kenaz probably
  taught more talmidim than Yehoshua did. The entire time Yehoshua led,
  ObK had no other job. And he's the one who was able to restore the
  Torah forgotten during aveilus for Mosh. Derashos and TSBP first run
  through him.

- Through the geonim it lists every gaon of Pumpedisa. Listing every
  gaon fits the key baalei mesorah pattern, but choosing Pumpedisa
  over Sura (which is only where Rav Ashi compiled shas) was because of
  the next pattern -- the chain of rabbe-talmid runs through R Hai Gaon
  to Rabbeinu Gershom.

  Sort of. Rabbeinu Gershom's primary rebbe was Rabbeinu Yehudah Liontin
  HaKohein. But we don't know the chain to Rivam Ka"tz, so we use Rabbeinu
  Gershom's 2nd-hand exposire to Pumbesisa instead. And that's where
  the "lead baal mesorah" list gets spliced into the rebbe-talmid list.

- Because of the previous item, it has too many generations. There
  are geonim that served only a few years. I bet if we knew who learned
  from who, we could skip numerous entries in period from Chazal to Rabbeinu
  Gershom. Enough to make up for any nevi'im elided over because of Pinechas.

(And has a few late rishonim in the wrong place.)

Still, with all the flaws, it's nice to know that I can demonstrate that
in principle, the TSBP Rav Dovid taught me in NY in the 1980s is indeed
the same one Moshe Rabbeinu was given.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             When you come to a place of darkness,
micha at aishdas.org        you don't chase out the darkness with a broom.
http://www.aishdas.org   You light a candle.
Fax: (270) 514-1507        - R' Yekusiel Halberstam of Klausenberg zt"l