A few hours ago, I wrote a nice piece about the secular Jews of today. It seems to be swallowed up in cyberspace. Maybe the Mods can find and repost, as it doesn’t seem that it was edited or deleted, just disappeared.
At any rate, I just had occasion to look up the Chazon Ish. It is in Yoreh Deah, Siman 2, Os 16, last paragraph. Maybe someone can translate, as I am tired now.
In the next Os, he seems to say what I was saying earlier, that an apikorus is one who allows his anti-Torah beliefs to affect his life style; not one who merely doesn’t believe in something. He proves this from the fact that Kusim, who don’t believe in Torah Shebeal Peh are allowed to shecht. Also, we give the kohein gadol a shevuah that he shouldn’t switch the order of lighting the ketores and entering the kodesh kodashim. But the ones who do that are tzedukim who don’t believe in Torah Shebeal Peh. How would a shevuah help? The entire avodah would be pasul, not just the ketores. So the CI concludes that when it says that one who does not believe in Torah Shebal Peh is a Mumar Lchol Hatorah Kula, or a Min, it means one who does not live his life according to the way the Rabbanan prescribed. But since the Kusim are medakdek to keep the Torah Shebichsav, they are not considered as a Min. This is truly a far reaching chiddush, which even I have trouble digesting, and also I read it quickly and don’t have in front of me, and may not be saying it over completely right. But please look up when you have a chance.