[Mesorah] a kleinigkeit

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Feb 04, 2018 at 09:25:58PM -0500, Akiva Miller via Mesorah wrote:
: On Avodah, R' Micha Berger often reminds us that paskening halacha cannot
: be reduced to an algorithm of rules. Rather, the posek must often rely on
: his personal understanding of the issues. Ultimately, he might not be able
: to explain his psak EVEN TO HIMSELF, but that does not indicate a flaw in
: the process.

I think Electricity on Shabbos is a strong example of this. Which is why
there is far more consensus about how to conclude than why.

But I did not interrupt to turn this intro into its own off-topic discusison.
Rather, to comment on:
: We on Mesorah must realize how this applies to language as well. There are
: many rules, and many exceptions to those rules. And we usually apply them
: correctly, without even thinking about it.

I usually even use language as a mashal, following R/Dr Moshe Koppel in
Metahalakhah and his essay "Judaism as a First Language" (Azur, no. 46,
Autumn 5772) <http://azure.org.il/include/print.php?id=588>, and a lighter
presentation in a comparatively recent blog post (future book chapter?)
<https://moshekoppel.wordpress.com/2017/10/17/leading-from-behind>.

A native speaker knows the feel of a language. Someone taught it as a
second language knows the rules. The immigrant is more likely to know
what a past pluperfect is than someone who grew up immersed in the
language. To compensate for not yet knwing what just "sounds right".

But it takes knowing what "sounds right" to know when a violation of the
formal rules of grammar makes bad English, and when it can capture the
ear as poetic license.

The need for shimush and mesorah in deciding halahah is like that.

(And the post-reupture shift to textualism is to compensate for the
loss of "sounds right". But I've gone far enough...)

Halakhah wasn't supposed to be written, and it's the very same reason
why rules of grammar derived from mesoretic notes shouldn't be taken
all that seriously.

Both need to be taken with a view to "what would a native-speaker think?"

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             We are what we repeatedly do.
micha at aishdas.org        Thus excellence is not an event,
http://www.aishdas.org   but a habit.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                   - Aristotle