[Avodah] Derech psak

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 12:56:54PM +0000, Ben Bradley wrote:
: I was thinking of his role as posek for the RCA as a whole rather
: than for individual rabbonim. Those decisions are recorded. I have no
: idea how many Boston baaleibatim asked routine shailos in yoreh deah or
: otherwise in the 60s and 70s. Nor how how he paskened for them.

But obviously as a shul rav for the entire community, he fielded more
question than the dozen or at most 20 RYBS fielded for the RCA.

: Re Yahrzeits, keeping it in both Adars  is a Maharil brought by Rama, so not a Brisk thing.
: In any case, point was being a Brisker lamdan doesn't have to limit decisiveness in pask.

And yet, a shul rav in a place like 1950s Boston would never give such
a pesaq. Your textualist answer is consistent with my point. If you take
mai ama devar our of the formula, you do have a lot more open questions.
And so yes, people from Boston have a very different impression of who
RYBS was than do his talmidim from YU and the RCA do.

Compare the modus operendi of someone who usually engages in lomdus (eg
RYBS-NY), and thus in a style of ameilus baTorah that is for understanding
shitos lehalakhah velo lemaaseh with, for example, the analysis of the
Ahs (YD 402:16). "Ha'iqar lehis'anos beAdar rishon. Vaf al pi sheyeish
cholqin -- kakh hu ha'iqar."

When do you ever hear R Chaim mention the concept of their being an
iqar hadin? Possibly never, because he's not hunting for applicability,
he is hunting for a way to understand shitos.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

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Micha Berger                 Time flies...
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