[Avodah] Those Whose Halakhic Status Is Questionable

[Micha Berger]

On Sat, Jan 29, 2022 at 08:47:32PM -0600, Jay F. Shachter via Avodah wrote:
> Personal status is not a matter of fact, it is a matter of halakha.

I would say that halakhah is a matter of how we relate to and percieve
fact. And therefore come to the same next sentence:
> That is why Eliyahu will not tell us who the mamzerim are...

Normally we deal with unknowns by being worried for both possibilities,
whether via the rules of rov or of qavua. We think about an unknown
piece of fat as "probably shuman" or "probably cheilev", and it would
be mutar or assur accordingly. Or if we once established which halakhah
this fat had -- qavua, we have to play safe.

But Mamzeirus is a special case. Kivan denitma, nitma. We are obligated
to ignore the "may be mamzer". The normal doubts that become part of
the metzi'us (relationship to the facts) the halakhah addresses, are to
be quashed, not accomodated.


On a totally different topic, but same subject line...

On Sun, Feb 06, 2022 at 08:09:05PM -0500, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> (Another difference between then and now: Someone once pointed out to me
> that Boaz recognized Ruth's tzidkus from how she was careful about tzedaka
> and the agricultural halachos, and not a word appears about her Shabbos and
> kashrus.)

Something I wrote about in Widen.

We see this in hilkhos geirus as well. The gemara (Yevamos 47a) and
the Rambam (Issurei Bi'ah 14:2) say that we teach a prospective geir a
broad overview of mitzvos. But there are mitzvos they specifically name
as ones that must be taught: leqet, shikhechah, pei'ah and maaser ani.

And just like we are nohagim to lein Rus on Shavu'os, parashas Emos
(23:22) inserts the mitzvos of leqet, shikhechah, and pei'ah into the
same position in describing Shavuos as maztah and as 4 minim and Sukkah
in their respective yamim tovim.

This shift from leqet, shikhechah, pei'ah, maaser ani to "Shabbos,
Kashrus and Taharas haMishpachah" is indicative of the shift from
Chazal's priorities (Torah begins and ends with Chessed -R Simlai)
and the dream of being an ehrlicher Yid to today's focus on frumkeit.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 If you want others to be happy,
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   practice compassion.
Author: Widen Your Tent      If you want to be happy,
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    practice compassion.