[Avodah] local custom

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Joel Rich asked:

> When the mishna tells us that we need to keep local custom (makom
> shenahagu... Al yishaneh adam mpnei hamachloket) it gives the
> reason "mpnei machloket" (avoid discord?). What specific type
> actions/statements were Chazal concerned about in terms of discord?

I don't have an answer, but I do have a similar question, and perhaps an
answer might be found by comparing them.

There are certain situations where we are told to act in a unified manner
because of "lo tisgodedu". Is this the same thing as "mpnei machloket" or
is it something different?

Regarding which days of the Sefira period are of an aveilus nature, Rama
493:3 says that because of "lo tisgodedu", each locale should follow one
minhag or the other.

The Dirshu Mishne Brura, note #33 on the above, points out something very
relevant: Shulchan Aruch Harav 493:7 (near the end) says that if many
people of the area follow one minhag, and many people of the area follow
the other minhag, and so they are not makpid on each other, so there is no
fear of machlokes -- even so, "lo tisgodedu" still applies.

Interestingly, regarding a place which has mixed minhagim about tefillin on
Chol Hamoed, Mishne Brura 31:8 cites both machlokes (near the beginning)
and lo tisgodedu (near the end).

I recently came upon another situation where I can't imagine any machlokes
arising, yet the halacha is worried about lo tisgodedu: Beis Yosef (OC 114,
near the beginning of "Umah shekasav v'itmar b'Yerushalmi") asks why Mashiv
Haruach starts and stops at Musaf on Yom Tov, why not follow the calendar
and switch at Maariv the night before? His answer is that "Not everyone is
in shul in the evening, and it will turn out that this one says it and that
one doesn't say it, and it will be agudos agudos." (I'd love to know why
this doesn't apply to any of the other changes in the siddur, and if anyone
wants to start a new thread about that, I'd appreciate it.)

To return to RJR's question, it seems from the Shulchan Aruch Harav that
"mpnei machloket" is exactly what it sounds like. If everyone is accepting
of the differences, then "mpnei machloket" is not a problem (although "lo
tisgodedu" might still apply). But if the situation is such that machloket
could arise, that's "mpnei machloket".

Akiva Miller
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