Avodah Mailing List

Volume 05 : Number 026

Sunday, April 23 2000

• Re: Avodah V5 #25
• RE: RW Revisionism
• Re: Chush-Limudei Hashem
• Administriva: Split of Avodah into Two Lists
• Re: Fw: Ruchani Eye on Rabbi Ovadaih Yosef, shlita

On 21 Apr 00, at 16:47, Akiva Atwood wrote:

> As the typesetter of the book, I'd recommend people who are interested to
> buy it now. The book is, and has been for some time, out of print. There is
> no intention to reprint the book.

I already own it. I also have a copy of the letter "retracting" it if 
anyone wants to see it. Yes, I was part of the original distribution 
and never sent the book back. 

Moadim leSimcha, and hope IY"H to see those of you who are in 
Eretz Yisrael on Tuesday morning.

-- Carl


Please daven and learn for a Refuah Shleima for our son,
Baruch Yosef ben Adina Batya among the sick of Israel.  
Thank you very much.

Carl and Adina Sherer
mailto:sherer@actcom.co.il

>Micha Berger wrote:             Subject: Re: Chush-Limudei Hashem

>This is actually a reprint. It's been in Avodah before.

Sorry. I was overseas at the time and am still catching up with
Avodah's from Dec/Jan.

>And I've stated my objection to it before as well. The story sounds
nice
>on the emotional level, but I think the message it gives is horrid.

Sorry again. I was indeed quite moved by the story - emotionally
- as were many of the people that I sent it on too.

SBA

The old system of DNAs was just not working. While many expressed contentment
with the list as it was, we were also loosing members who were looking for a
list that was actually what Avodah promised to be: a high-level discussion of
Avodas Hashem.

The old contents of Avodah are going to split amongst two lists:
- Avodah: a MODERATED discussion of Avodas Hashem, halachah, machshavah and
  hislahavus.
- Areivim: a broader discussion area. Emails that are sent to Avodah that
  have drifted off topic will be directed to this list.

The membership of Areivim will be limited to members of Avodah. Currently
the membership lists are identical. Consider it two different conversations
amongst the same people. However, I see this split as an opportunity for
people whose time is too limited to follow Avodah as it was to read Avodah
only if they so choose. (Much better than losing their insights altogether.)

-mi

-- 
Micha Berger (973) 916-0287          MMG"H for 19-Apr-00: Revi'i
micha@aishdas.org                                         A"H 
http://www.aishdas.org                                    Rosh-Hashanah 27a
For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah its light.         Yeshaiah 1

On Mon, Apr 17, 2000 at 06:12:21PM -0400, DFinchPC@aol.com wrote:
:> In that sense, of course new halachos are coined.

: In that sense, *all* halachos are coined unless absolutely literally 
: Scriptural, including everything we have on kashruth beyond a kid in its 
: mother's milk.

Not quite, one needn't "coin" a preservation of the status quo. Lo sivasheil
was never understood literally, so for most questions one just did what one's
parents did.

But yes, you're right, halachah relies heavily on emunas chachamim. As R'
Akiva learnt on his second day in yeshiva -- even the learning the aleph-beis 
requires it.

However, this only reinforces my question. How can someone assume that the
men on whom we rely for interpreting and applying halachah are driven by
such base motivations? Or, to look at it from the other direction: once you
are willing to assume that our halachic leaders allow petty motives to get in
the way of the greater good, why are you willing to follow them when it comes
to halachah?

Yes, the two are different domains, not every political opinion of a gadol
is a halachic ruling. However, since they come from the same person, how
do you justify assuming such contradictory things about how that person
makes decisions?

-mi

-- 
Micha Berger (973) 916-0287          MMG"H for 19-Apr-00: Revi'i
micha@aishdas.org                                         A"H 
http://www.aishdas.org                                    Rosh-Hashanah 27a
For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah its light.         Yeshaiah 1

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