<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(105, 79, 80); font-weight: normal;"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">What should a modern Jew take from the Maharal's quote
regarding the shulchan aruch? Does living by the shulchan aruch water
down Judaism? I have heard in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak Berkowitz that
the only reason an individual today cannot argue with a tana, amorah
ect.. is not due to an inferior intellectual ability but due to an
inferior possession of information. Regarding achronim, we are all
equally distant from the Mesorah subsequent to a certain point in
history (the exact point in history is unclear- but a line is certainly
drawn for the shulchan aruch). <br>
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<div style="margin-right: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(105, 79, 80); font-weight: normal;"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"</font></font>When first
published, the <span class="SpellE">Shulkhan</span> <span class="SpellE">Arukh</span>
<span class="GramE">was greeted</span> not with unanimous praise, but with the
same objections that greeted all the previous codes of Jewish law. As one
example, the <span class="SpellE">Maharal</span> of Prague wrote: </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-right: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(105, 79, 80); font-weight: normal;">"To
decide <span class="SpellE">halakhic</span> questions from the codes without
knowing the source of the ruling was not the intent of these authors. Had they
known that their works would lead to the abandonment of Talmud, they would not
have written them. It is better for one to decide <span class="GramE">on the
basis of</span> the Talmud even though he might err, for a scholar must depend
solely on his understanding. As such, he is beloved of God, and preferable to
the one who rules <span class="GramE">from</span> a code but does not know the
reason for the ruling; such a one walks like a blind person." <span class="GramE">[From the <span class="SpellE">Maharal's</span> <span class="SpellE">Netivot</span>
<span class="SpellE">Olam</span>, by A. <span class="SpellE">Siev</span>,
"Rema", p.360, n.2).</span> </span></strong></div>
<strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(105, 79, 80); font-weight: normal;">Other
prominent critics of the <span class="SpellE">Shulkhan</span> <span class="SpellE">Arukh</span>
included Rabbi <span class="SpellE">Yoel</span> <span class="SpellE">ben</span> <span class="SpellE">Shmuel</span> <span class="SpellE">Sirkis</span> and Rabbi Meir <span class="SpellE">ben</span> <span class="SpellE">Gedaliah</span>. [See Rabbi <span class="SpellE">Mendell</span> <span class="SpellE">Lewittes</span>, "Jewish
Law: An Introduction" p.157-158<font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">" <br>
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<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kashkin.com/70Faces/HalachaFromCodes.htm">http://www.kashkin.com/70Faces/HalachaFromCodes.htm</a><br>
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-Josh Schulman<br>
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