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How are we supposed to know what is a valid practice, and what is a Minhag Shtus? Do we only find out about a Minhag's validity after a 100 years of its use??<br>
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Good Shabbas and Go Israel!!<br>
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</blockquote><div><br>Minhaggim shoud be scrutnized, and so should texts. Just because we have a textual source for fasting on 10th of Teves were it fto fall on Shabbas does not mean that this is "good halacha" or in any way normative.<br>
<br>Minhaggim that have stood the text of time at least can point to peer review of sorts. Any minhag that is "shtus" would have been protested.<br><br>For exmaple there is a VERY widespread Minhag of chatting in shul. But we note that chachamim and G'dolim in MANY generations have protested this highly popular Minhag. So the fact that it has a widespread mimetic basis does not prove anything.<br>
<br>OTOH there are other minhaggim which have not aroused protest. The Kabblists of Tsefat started the Minhag of Kabbals Shabbos, but I am unware of any siginificant protest. I AM awre that some communites did not institute Kabbals Shabbos until relatively recently, but I am not aware of any serious oppostion to its imposition. </div>
</div><br>The larger issue of ANCIENT is a bit different. That is because if a Minhag was REALLY old enough it might go back to late Talmudic times or Ga'onic times. That would lead one who is traditional to assign a higher-level of "authority" to such a minhag. But that ONLY works if the Minhag is not highly problematic and/or seems to have been widely accepted etc. At a certain time "al titosh toras imecha" sets in.<br>
<br>As I've posted before, often a minhag is merely a mimetic PROOF or an ealier p'sak. Lemashal: Take Chezkas Habattim. It does not prove a sale in and of itself, but in the absence of a written shtar the Chazak works. Similarly if a community has a specifc practice and it cannot point to a specific doument [e.g a Teshuva] the mimetic Minhag is like a Chezkas Habattim, a form of testimony to a p'sak whose origin is lost. <br clear="all">
<br>But remember, Chezkas habattim does NOT work in the case of mach'ah. So if when a Minhag starts out with many protesters then it SHOULD be scrutinized.<br>-- <br>Kol Tuv - Best Regards,<br>RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com<br>
see: <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a><br><br>