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PSA your local Rav is probably not a "posek"
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 5:40 am
What does your Rav have smicha in?
Dh has smicha in niddah abs IY"H soon in issur v'heter.
Dayanus usually refers to monetary matters. To become a Dayan you need to study for 5-10 years.
But as I’ve seen on this board, it seems that in the chassidishe community, what a yeshivish person would call a Rav, a chassidish person would call a Dayan.
I would not go to a Dayan for a nidddah or kashrus shaila. I would go to a Rav whom I know to be well versed in that area of halacha.

Yes you learned some wonderful things in kallah class. But it’s worth going over it again with a Rav who deals with the shailos regularly and can put the halacha and the metzius into harmony.
You may call it a heter. Maybe it is, maybe it is just the halacha.

20, 30 years ago, niddah wasn’t talked about in public. There were hardly any sefarim dedicated to its halachos.
Today there are many sefarim, classes and kollelim studying it. The kollelim often have a doctor come in as guest speaker to clarify questions that may have arisen.
Kallah teachers aren’t always kept up to date.
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 7:45 am
simba wrote:
Smicha and Dayanus are not the same thing.


In my world, a dayan judges monetary matters, not taharas hamishpacha.

And in my world the Rabbanim are very, very knowledgeable. My brother has a very high level of smichah with shimush, so I know what this is.

No, I didn't ask Mickey Mouse my Shayla. I asked a real Rav. I'm sorry you don't like his psak.
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amother
Khaki


 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 9:32 am
amother wrote:
I'm not an expert, but AFAIK, not every rabbi can pasken; a posek is a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists. This requires expertise and in no way minimises another rabbi's competencies.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

In my area, there is one ultimate Rav for TH questions, and all mikvehs refer shailos to him. This is just one example.


This is my understanding. This short article explains the position as I understand it

https://shaashuim.wordpress.co.....osek/
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 10:10 am
amother wrote:
This is my understanding. This short article explains the position as I understand it

https://shaashuim.wordpress.co.....osek/


I think he means something different by the word " poisek" than this context.

All shul Rabbanim in my world are able to pasken in hilchos niddah, etc
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chanchy123




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 10:33 am
amother wrote:
This is a spin-off from the 1hr Mikvah thread.

Let me preface this op by saying

1. I'm not really qualified to write it
2. I'm coming from a place where I think that it is important to represent Hashem's Torah as TRULY as possible
3. I understand that "lo bashamayim hi" means that we as a people can make mistakes with halacha and that is ok and the "mistake becomes the halacha" and that is how Hashem wants it
4. I'm happy for you to correct me if I misrepresent something (but please try to do it nicely)

Bearing that in mind-

It is really important that we remember that most local rabbis do not have the power to write halacha. What do I mean by this? The vast majority of questions that are asked of local rabbis are questions to which there is already a known answer. These rabbis can and must find this answer (sometimes they must chose from different opinions), and convey it to you. This then becomes the halacha for YOU. But the power to be a Posek is not given over to every man that goes by the name "rabbi".

And further, to give them that power is often to pull a person away from the truth of Hashem's Torah.

With regard to time- we know the zmanei tefila, chametz and so on from.the gemara. Then we get timings that have been defined much later, like the definition of achilat prat has been defined in more modern times as various times including 9 minutes (Chatam Sofer) and 4 minutes (Kaf haChaim) (and there are other opinions). Previously, that timeframe was just called "achilat prat".

On the other hand, there simply is NO SHIUR of time that a woman must bath for in order to prepare for Mikvah. To say that there is is to misrepresent the Torah. She has to be clean. She has to soften scabs. She does not have to look at a clock, rather she should look at her body to see if it is ready.

Your average Rav cannot simply write this into halacha. To do so is to add to the Torah and to add to the original addition of Chava when she said not to touch the tree.

While some very important rabbonim had the power to define achilat prat, not every local shul rabbi had this power. Same with prep times for Mikvah. They have NOT been defined by any internationally recognized poskim. In fact there is no "halachic term" like achilat prat that can be defined in relation to required bath time Mikvah prep. Even the recommended "hour" if all prep is done after shkiah has always been an approximation and a recommendation. There is nothing to define, and even if there was, it is not definable by putting out a simple pamphlet about Mikvah. Such a term (if it existed) would need to be defined as part of a (likely series of) responsa. That is how the halacha supposed to evolve. The reason there is no time and no term to define is because the aim is a CLEAN BODY, however long that takes (but without becoming ocd about it). To make it an issue of time is to miss the whole point.

Particularly coming out of Parshat Shmini where we learn of Nadav and Avihu I felt very strongly that this point needed to be made.

OP of the other thread I don't want you to feel "bashed" by this thread. Of course you are saying what you have learned. But I feel that you are mistaken, and that is part of why you are having difficulties, and I want you to feel better.

(and I Don't want to sound patronizing, but I don't think I'm doing such a great job. Perhaps some of you ladies can help.me out).


Great post.
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amother
Khaki


 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 10:42 am
amother wrote:
I think he means something different by the word " poisek" than this context.

All shul Rabbanim in my world are able to pasken in hilchos niddah, etc


Yes. Also you and I are defining "posek" differently. In my understanding /definition, a posek is an INNOVATOR in halacha. He is very learned and continuously learning in all areas of halacha. When he is required to answer a question, his first point of call is the Gemara. He will know already ALL the Gemaras pertaining to the question. Only then will he look down the halachic line to the Rishonim and Achronim. This is a Posek.

Most (not all) shul rabbis are not Poskim. That is not to denigrate them. They have a different, also important role. They spend their days (at least in Chu"l) organising shuls, doing weddings and funerals, preparing interesting shiurim for the community, nice drashot for Shabbat , visiting sick people, meeting bar mitzvah boys, organising/preparing lunchtime shiurim for office workers, overseeing a school's curriculum - that sort of thing. They are not sitting for hours and hours every day learning. That's ok. They can answer questions. But they are not "poskim". They cannot INNOVATE in halacha.

I'm wondering what you mean exactly by "all shul rabbanim in my world can pasken in hilchos nidda". All? Pasken? Answer a woman's question, yes. But not Pasken, maybe?

Do you understand the distinction I am trying to make? I'm no saying not to listen to your rabbi, ch'v'sh. But can you see how (let's keep this non controversial) that a local Rabbi putting out a pamphlet (as I suggested before) advising that cleaning a fridge for Pesach should take "about half an hour" does NOT suddenly create a new halachic reality of a time shiur in relation to Pesach cleaning?
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imasoftov




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Apr 16 2018, 1:09 pm
amother wrote:
Yes. Also you and I are defining "posek" differently. In my understanding /definition, a posek is an INNOVATOR in halacha. He is very learned and continuously learning in all areas of halacha. When he is required to answer a question, his first point of call is the Gemara. He will know already ALL the Gemaras pertaining to the question. Only then will he look down the halachic line to the Rishonim and Achronim. This is a Posek.

Most (not all) shul rabbis are not Poskim. That is not to denigrate them. They have a different, also important role. They spend their days (at least in Chu"l) organising shuls, doing weddings and funerals, preparing interesting shiurim for the community, nice drashot for Shabbat , visiting sick people, meeting bar mitzvah boys, organising/preparing lunchtime shiurim for office workers, overseeing a school's curriculum - that sort of thing. They are not sitting for hours and hours every day learning. That's ok. They can answer questions. But they are not "poskim". They cannot INNOVATE in halacha.

I'm wondering what you mean exactly by "all shul rabbanim in my world can pasken in hilchos nidda". All? Pasken? Answer a woman's question, yes. But not Pasken, maybe?

Do you understand the distinction I am trying to make? I'm no saying not to listen to your rabbi, ch'v'sh. But can you see how (let's keep this non controversial) that a local Rabbi putting out a pamphlet (as I suggested before) advising that cleaning a fridge for Pesach should take "about half an hour" does NOT suddenly create a new halachic reality of a time shiur in relation to Pesach cleaning?

Innovation is much clearer than your previous "write halacha", but I still trust a shul (etc., not all rabbis who answer halachic questions are shul rabbis, our shul has no rabbi by design, we have many members who are rabbis, the one we mostly ask questions of works for a nonprofit organization, if he's not available, he travels a lot, our next choice would be someone who's the rabbi at school) rabbi to know when your question requires innovation and ask someone appropriate or refer you to someone like that. I don't know precisely what the OOP (original original poster) heard from her rabbi, so I don't know if your "about half an hour" analogy is relevant to her situation.

Also, you are being too literal if you insist that only a posek paskens. People use the verb to describe a rabbi's ruling, even if it's a simple one.

I still think, as I suggested in the original thread, that she should go back to her rabbi and explain her problems doing everything he requires her to do in the time available, neither expecting leniencies nor permission to feel aggrieved by the mikva timetable, but hopefully getting useful ideas to accomodate halacha and the mikva simultaneously.
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imasoftov




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 22 2018, 6:21 am
So about the confusion about what the word "Dayan" means in different communities, judging monetary cases vs ruling on halacha ...

Is the former identical to Yadin Yadin semicha? Every so often the subject of whether a rabbi is certified to be a Dayan turns up in Israeli news (generally when someone gets appointed to a position requiring it without this certification) but the articles do not make it clear what the qualifications are. And of course it's not necessarily so that the requirements for being a Dayan in the Rabbanut are not the same as being a Dayan in a private beit din.

And in the Chassidic world, where Dayan seems to mean someone who can answer halachic questions, how is that sort of Dayan's training different than other rabbis? Do their semicha diplomas say something different? Is there a type of semicha (either in the Chassidic world or in general) less than Yoreh Yoreh?
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 22 2018, 7:50 am
In Israel, there is a rabbanut test for smicha. It is difficult and many men take the test only to test themselves.
I’m sure that there are some who stop learning once they pass the test while others take tests by everyone so they have smicha in the same area a few times over.
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amother
Khaki


 

Post Sun, Apr 22 2018, 4:13 pm
imasoftov wrote:


1.Innovation is much clearer than your previous "write halacha"

2. I don't know precisely what the OOP (original original poster) heard from her rabbi, so I don't know if your "about half an hour" analogy is relevant to her situation.

3. Also, you are being too literal if you insist that only a posek paskens. People use the verb to describe a rabbi's ruling, even if it's a simple one...


In relation to the above points -

1. ITA. Which only proves my point about how the language a person uses can be really wrongly misinterpreted if it is not well chosen. Which makes the point also that the more informal a document, the less careful the author is likely to be. So for example-

2. I used the term "about half an hour" as a colloquial expression about cleaning a fridge. Then the op of the other thread actually came back and said that her pamphlet said to have a bath of "about half an hour". A colloquial term used in an informal setting which should NOT be reinterpreted as "30 minutes exactly", or "at least 30 minutes" or "set a timer g or 30 minutes".

3. I know that the term posek is used colloquially to mean any decision. But that is my WHOLE POINT on this thread. That just because someone puts out a pamphlet recommending cleaning something or someone for "about half an hour" this does not create a new "time shiur" for a task that the Torah measures by cleanliness not time. I used ""s around the word Posek, although italics would probably have been preferable.
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