I have gotten numerous comments from people who read but "don't have time to comment" that if I really want to be objective then the Alter Rebbe was an even bigger Mechadesh in many different realms of Halachah. That being the case I shouldn't "pick fights". Again I'm being misunderstood.
The point of the post was not to bring out the fact that the Chazon Ish was mechadesh new guidelines in Shiurin D'Oraisoh, or that the Satmarer Rov had new ideas for Hilchos Avodo Zoroh. Rather, it was to bring out that those who scream about the "Mechadshim" had better check their own backyard first and see what their Rabbonim were Mechadesh, then decide if you want to condemn others.
"Rav Dessler" brings a story of how REED had in his posession a becher from his elter-zeide Reb Yisroel Salanter which his wife insisted he use for Kiddush every Shabbos. Now REED was of the opinion that the CI was the Moroh D'Asroh/Posek Acharon in B'nei Brak where he lived and his shiurim should be followed. The becher had no such shiur. He waited till his Rebbetzin passed away to use a bigger becher. In other words, according to the CI RYS never made a proper Kiddush.
Strange, no?
CORRECTION ON 1/6/15:
Upon reviewing the story I see that I inadvertently misquoted the book; The becher was a present from his uncle Reb Chaim Eyzer of Vilne, who received it from RYS. ואתכם הסליחה
maybe sholom bayis is more important than kiddush d'orayseh?
ReplyDeleteOy Vey!
ReplyDeleteThe point is not that he made Kiddush on the smaller becher to please his wife, although that too is commendable.
I know that it was the opinion of others, but never did it become Halachah LeMaaseh.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Rebbe Rashab and Hebrew goes, don't get me started.
normaahl:
ReplyDeleteI'm not a total baki in this, but correct me if I'm wrong; The CI made the actual calcualtions and his determinations are what we call the Chazon Ish Shiur. Thus, even though many may hold that the sizes changed over time, it is the Chazon Ish who 'came up' with these specific shiurim, which turn out to be thelargets of the known ones.
(there is a very interesting write-up about this in hakdamah to R' Chaim naeh's Shiurei torah- obviously, it is partisan.)
why is Reb Chaim Noeh partisan, because he defends the Alter Rebbe?
ReplyDeleteand the Steipler was Lishmoh?
I haven't been able to be here lately and I think some of the discussions have struck me as distasteful.
ReplyDeleteI will make a quick comment though on this.
Real Litvishe know that you don't have to be a Chazon Ish'nik or a Brisker to be a 'real Litvak' (Misnagdic/or not Chassidic). Those two gedaylim, however, great they were, were not accepted by all Litvishe in everything they said. They were not the 'Chassidishe Rebbes' of the Misnagdim.
In their lifetimes, they were not as popular as they are know.
The problem is that 1) there is a new crop of tzugekumener Ungarishe (some BT's too I guess) and other gevorener (nisht geborener), fun anderer kreizen 'Litvaks', who don't know this and think you must be a Brisk'er or CI'nik to be a 'real Litvak' and 2) there is a trend among some toward extreme positions, so they tend to take the most machmir and extreme shita.
But emese Litvaks know better.
Reb C
ReplyDeletebelieve me, the last thing I wished to do was alienate you.
re: Geborener Litvishe; I remember in camp having a Chaver whose zeide learned in Kamenitz by RBBL, he would always say "I'm a REAL Litvak, not like these guys today, my zeide learned by Reb Boruch Ber in Kamenitz"! I would be proud too if I was from the few survivors of a proud, rich, Torah'dikke heritage.
נאך א זאך - It could be that the increased influence today of R. Velvel and the Chazayn Ish, zichraynom livrocho, is also due to the increasing influence of Eretz Yisroel in the chareidi world these days. Both of those gedaylim lived the end of their lives (which usually is the most prominent and influential part of a godol's life, relatively speaking) in EY and had more influence there, and were more well-known and popular there, I suspect. In the past, when there was less travel and worse communications between the golus and EY, it was easier for golus yidden to keep their own minhogim, derochimand manhigim. However, when there is so much contact and exposure to EY ways, like now, many people get influenced by those ways and assume that they are better, and drop the minhogim and hanhogos of gedaylim and manhigim in chutz lo'oretz. Instead of asking sheilas of their local manhig, they send them to EY. That is wrong. Zei redden zich ayn that the EY ways are automatically better since they come from the heiliger land. But that's not necessarily so and you can't just do that carte blanche.
ReplyDelete