sjs,
“Notpashut, thank you for giving me an honest (and respectful) answer. Now I at least understand where you are coming from and I can respect that you follow your rabbonim (although, I vehemently disagree with their conclusion).”
Thank you.
“
Not bashing here but one thing I can say for sure is that even if it helped you, it does not change the facts for the other 99.9999999999% of the world.
“At no point does being machmir just to be more machmir (which is something I have seen in the yeshivish community) come into my repertoire.
I was always taught that the reason to be machmir was:
1) It was an area you were especially weak in and by being machmir you would eventually fall in line with actual halacha (finding the shvil hazahav)
2) It was an area you were worried about possibly transgressing, so you put up an extra layer of protection for yourself.
Here we do have a number of issues.
1)How do we define “chumra”?
2)Why be machmir?
1)It seems that the MO crowd defines “chumra” as any time there are 2 shittos and a person chooses the more machmir one.
Why does that make me a “machmir”? Maybe you are a “maikel”!
Why should I be more on the defensive on this one more than you?
Why should the yeshivishe crowd take flak for “looking for chumros”, but the MO crowd can’t be accused of relying on “kulos”?!
2)As far as the why be machmir issue, allow me to explain it the way I see it.
It’s clear from our discussions that you have YOUR Rav whom you follow.
That’s fantastic & that’s the way it should be.
However in our times, the facts are that MOST jews, both MO & black hat DON’T have ONE Rav who they ask ALL their shailos to. They sometimes daven here & sometimes daven there & sometimes ask this Rav & sometimes ask that Rav & sometimes they ask their Rosh Yeshiva & sometimes rely on what they heard R’ Soloveitchik held & sometimes rely on what they heard R’ Moshe held & sometimes…..you get the point.
So now, let’s take a common example – opening soda bottle caps on Shabbos.
Everone (chareidi) knows that R’ Elyashiv holds that it’s an issur d’oraisa & R’ Shlomo Zalman held that it’s 100% muttar.
Someone like I just described – what should he do?
If he had a specific Rav to ask (like you) then he’s off the hook, whatever the Rav says – he does.
But our guy who does not have a specific Rav is stuck. He can open the bottle & risk being a mechallel shabbos or he can stay put & lose out on a drop of “olam hazeh”. What is the prudent thing to do?
What will a yirei shomayim do?
R’ Bentzion Abba Shaul says in his mussar sefer “Ohr L’tzion” (a MUST read) that a person on a bus with a sandwich & no water to wash netilas yadayim – if he’s a real yirei shomayim won’t eat the sandwich. AYYYY he could eat the sandwich without touching the bread?
No, says R’ Bentzion, that’s a “kula” & a yirei shomayim does not rely on “kulos”.
So now what about our bottlecap case where the posek hador holds it’s an issur d’oraisa, what should he do?
My point is that I think yeshivishe people get a bad rap from people like you.
They are not “looking for chumros”. They are looking to be “mekayem” shulchan aruch.
All the yeshivishe people who I know who have “their” Rav to whom they ask all their shailos, follow his psak whether it’s l’kula or l’chumra.
The ones who are “machmir” are the ones who don’t have “their” Rav.
As opposed to he typical MO person in that situation who will say “Why should I be machmir for no reason”?
So I think that that IS a sign of being “frummer” & having more yiras shomayim as opposed to veiwing it as “repression for no reason”.
Maybe take a look at how HE views chumros & kulos. (The Vilna Gaon said he would WALK from Vilna to Italy to learn from him).
Many times the Mishna Berura says to try & be “yotzei” all the shittos & we find this concept very often from the Gemara down to the poskim of our era.
So it’s nice that you feel you don’t need it, but that doesn’t make everyone else silly, fanatical or incorrect.
Please, please don’t misquote me. All I said was that he was a Gadol (which is certainly true) but let’s not get carried away.
R’ Moshe wasn’t on his madreiga?
R’ Aharon wasn’t on his madreiga?
R’ Yaakov wasn’t on his madreiga?
The Satmar Rebbe wasn’t on his madreiga?
To summarize,
1) I think you’re mammash sticking your head in the sand (intentionally?) on the TV issue.
2)As far as chumros I think 50% of our disagreement is semantics & 50% is real.
3)I think you (& many other posters) unfortunately have NO CLUE – I’ll repeat that – NO CLUE, what a spiritual giant R’ Avigdor Miller was. He did not live on the same planet we lived on. I strongly suggest that you read up on him & or listen to his tapes before you just brush him aside. He was mammash one in a BILLION. (I’m not saying you have to follow him – I’m just saying – be careful).