Joseph, I didn’t issue that psak abrogating the Chasam Sofer and this shita of Rav Shach ZT”L (which I still haven’t verified, and but I’ll be meiniach that it exists for argument’s sake). The poseik hador, Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L, did, along with the lack of a mention in the Aruch Hashulchan and the Mishna Brurah. So did Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky ZT”L, who said you teach a child in the language he understands. The Chasam Sofer’s psak was for Hungary, where “Chadash assur min haTorah”, and was not accepted by the Litvish community. My mesorah from my rabbeim is that Yiddish is not holy. My rebbe, who was from Lita and spoke Yiddish fluently, called Yiddish an “amaleikishe lashon”.Clearly his mesorah did not include the “mitzvah” of speaking yiddish. That “mitzvah” was left to the Bundists. He also used to stress the importance of spoeaking a fluent English in order to influence the masses toward Torah and mitzvah observance. Joseph, if you spoke English like a “Yinglishman”, would your posts and opinions here be half as effective?
The old yishuv used to learn in Lashon hakodesh, and only switched to Yiddish when Lashon hakodesh became confused with the ideologically dangerous ivrit, which was used as part of the prikas ol of the early rabidly secular Zionists. Today, Ivrit is the common tongue, and many shiurim are given in Ivrit.
If I’m abrogating the psak of the Chasam Sofer, aren’t you abrogating, negating, impugning and repudiating the psak of maran the Poseik Hador Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L? Two can play at this game. But let’s skip the games and focus on halacha. Halacha is, it’s not holy, at least according to the Litvish mesorah. Halacha and sources win debates, not naarish shtuchs.
Even lu yetzuyar it WAS holy (which it isn’t, according to my Rebbe muvhak, but I like Brisker lu yitzuyars), it could be that the Litvishe mesorah was NOT to make Yiddish holy because it would be giving credence to the Bundists. It’s the same reason why Tanach, Israel, and Moshiach are understressed in yeshivish circles. As I said, it’s a lu yitzuyar. But this way I’m not making a machlokes between the poseik hador Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L and the Chasam Sofer ZT”L.
I was told by a chaver who collects Yeshivishe maaselach that someone once told Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L that Rav Moshe ZT”L’s teshuva on a certain topic argued on the Chasam Sofer ZT”L. He said “Really? Thank you for telling me that!” He then went to his teshuva and penned at the bottom, “udelo kehaChasam Sofer ZT”L.” Our mesorah is Litvish psak, not Hungarian psak. Litvish psak, as per my rebbe and Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L is it’s not holy. I don’t believe Rav Shach ZT”L said it was holy as much as one should use a different language, or one should stick to tradition. Either way, either the Yeshivish community clearly didn’t pasken like him, or his psak is no longer relevant when nobody knows proper Yiddish anymore. It’s like the mechaber stating that one shouldn’t daven for the amud if he can’t pronounce the chiluk between an “aleph” and an “ayin”. As the Mishna Brurah says, this din is no longer relevant today when nobody can. I’m not abrogating his psak as much as I’m ignoring it due to its irrelevance in today’s day and age, when speaking a refined English is much more useful than speaking an unrefined Yinglish. The Gedolei Hador signed off on the Artscroll Revolution. And, of course, I have other poskim on my side.