They say a story about the Brisker Rav that I don't believe, but is certainly true. It seems, the story goes, that Brisker Rav was seen drinking tea in his living room during Sukkos one year. People were surprised (to say the least) and asked with shock, "The rav is known for being stringent in everything! Here, where the Shulchan Aruch praises someone for not even drinking water outside the sukkah; how could the rav be drinking tea in his living room?" The Brisker Rav answered, "I have no idea where you got the idea that I am strive to be stringent! True, I am by nature nervous and therefore try to avoid a situation where even one authority would rule that it is forbidden. In this case, however, the Shulchan Aruch rules that it is permissible; so it is permissible."
I don't believe it, because I just have trouble imagining the Brisker Rav just relaxing in his living room with a cup of tea. I absolutely believe, the other other hand, that he would give such a p'sak halacha. What started this latest rant?
I like hot coffee; even on Shabbos. I also like to sip my coffee while learning. How do I resolve those contradictory desires? I pour the hot coffee into an insulated container (טערמאס :) ) from which I pour small batches into my coffee cup. (Oh... I also don't like drinking from the insulted container; I like to drink from a glass mug. Yes, I am ridiculously finicky about my coffee.) On a lark, I decided to make sure there was no problem of הטמנה/wrapping to insulate on Shabbos. Of course there is not, as the insulated container is a second degree vessel; as stated almost offhandedly in R' Ribiat's wonderful sefer on Shabbos. He had a note that referenced Igros Moshe Orach Chaim I:95. I have a set of Igros Moshe, so I looked it up, expecting a paragraph or two (actually, I was surprised there was enough to say at all). Well... that responsa is a full five columns long! In the first couple of paragraphs he says that of course it is permitted. The rest of the respona basically says, "Really! It's permitted. There is no approach that forbids it."
Interesting. Later that week, I saw in Halichos Shlomo on Pesach another leniency, again accompanied by a long explanation that amounted to the same principle, "Really! It's permitted. There is no approach that forbids it." In the chapter on checking for chameitz, he says that you do not need to check s'farim, even though you were not careful during the year. (Halichos Shlomo Pesach 5:6) Even better, in the footnotes (30), it is related that R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach himself would use s'farim during Pesach that he had used during the year while eating. (Emphasis mine.)
With that in hand, see Halichos Shlomo on prayer chapter 4 (on t'filin), note 95: R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was known to often say that one is not generally permitted to be stringent more than the norm of his community. If, after serious and deep delving into the topic and the roots of the matter he feels that the halacha really is more like the stringent opinion, then he may be permitted to conduct himself with that stringency. Even then, though, it requires asking one's rav. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was pained deeply when he saw a young man missing out on helping his father (a Torah injunction) or his wife (something he signed up to in the k'suba) because of some stringency he felt would make him more holy.
A talmid was once denied his request to hold a certain stringency in his house. The talmid was surprised and wanted to know what was the problem if he wanted to be stringent? R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach told him as follows: Your children would grow up seeing this conduct, not not it's a stringency, and in their mind this will be proper conduct on Shabbos. Once they grow up and go to yeshiva, it is very likely they we will have a Shabbos meal by this or that rebbi. Certainly one of them will not hold this stringency. You son will see that and think that this rebbi doesn't take Shabbos seriously! You will have effectively have trained your son to have a lack of respect for his Torah teachers!
Halacha is a serious business. We don't look for leniencies... but we also don't look for stringencies. The Torah is meant to be lived within the bounds of halacha, not deviating from the center; not to the left and not to the right.
I don't believe it, because I just have trouble imagining the Brisker Rav just relaxing in his living room with a cup of tea. I absolutely believe, the other other hand, that he would give such a p'sak halacha. What started this latest rant?
I like hot coffee; even on Shabbos. I also like to sip my coffee while learning. How do I resolve those contradictory desires? I pour the hot coffee into an insulated container (טערמאס :) ) from which I pour small batches into my coffee cup. (Oh... I also don't like drinking from the insulted container; I like to drink from a glass mug. Yes, I am ridiculously finicky about my coffee.) On a lark, I decided to make sure there was no problem of הטמנה/wrapping to insulate on Shabbos. Of course there is not, as the insulated container is a second degree vessel; as stated almost offhandedly in R' Ribiat's wonderful sefer on Shabbos. He had a note that referenced Igros Moshe Orach Chaim I:95. I have a set of Igros Moshe, so I looked it up, expecting a paragraph or two (actually, I was surprised there was enough to say at all). Well... that responsa is a full five columns long! In the first couple of paragraphs he says that of course it is permitted. The rest of the respona basically says, "Really! It's permitted. There is no approach that forbids it."
Interesting. Later that week, I saw in Halichos Shlomo on Pesach another leniency, again accompanied by a long explanation that amounted to the same principle, "Really! It's permitted. There is no approach that forbids it." In the chapter on checking for chameitz, he says that you do not need to check s'farim, even though you were not careful during the year. (Halichos Shlomo Pesach 5:6) Even better, in the footnotes (30), it is related that R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach himself would use s'farim during Pesach that he had used during the year while eating. (Emphasis mine.)
With that in hand, see Halichos Shlomo on prayer chapter 4 (on t'filin), note 95: R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was known to often say that one is not generally permitted to be stringent more than the norm of his community. If, after serious and deep delving into the topic and the roots of the matter he feels that the halacha really is more like the stringent opinion, then he may be permitted to conduct himself with that stringency. Even then, though, it requires asking one's rav. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was pained deeply when he saw a young man missing out on helping his father (a Torah injunction) or his wife (something he signed up to in the k'suba) because of some stringency he felt would make him more holy.
A talmid was once denied his request to hold a certain stringency in his house. The talmid was surprised and wanted to know what was the problem if he wanted to be stringent? R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach told him as follows: Your children would grow up seeing this conduct, not not it's a stringency, and in their mind this will be proper conduct on Shabbos. Once they grow up and go to yeshiva, it is very likely they we will have a Shabbos meal by this or that rebbi. Certainly one of them will not hold this stringency. You son will see that and think that this rebbi doesn't take Shabbos seriously! You will have effectively have trained your son to have a lack of respect for his Torah teachers!
Halacha is a serious business. We don't look for leniencies... but we also don't look for stringencies. The Torah is meant to be lived within the bounds of halacha, not deviating from the center; not to the left and not to the right.
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