Thought for the Day: Two Paths -- (1) Minyan of 10 Davening (2) Chiyuv With 9 Davening and One Learning?

Here's the sitch, as they say: Two people have a yarhtzeit for a parent and want to daven from the amud. No problem, just make two minyanim; happens all the time. Of course you need the resources to do that. Again, no problem. We have 20. 10 stay in the main beis medrash and start davening ma'ariv. 10 join together in a side room. Just before ברכו, one -- we'll call him Yaakov -- says, "Oh, I only daven after nightfall, but I'll stay and learn so y'all can still daven." Whoops.

Short background/introduction before continuing the narrative: As both the Mishna Brura and R' Moshe pasken, unless you have 10 actually davening, it's not called תפילה בציבור (see Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim I:28 for detailed explanation). Having 10 adult Jewish men in the room, a majority of whom are davening (some say you need seven, aka "recognizable majority") allows one to say דברים שבקדושה, such as קדיש and ברכו ... and even קדושה, but it still doesn't have the status of תפילה בציבור/davening with a minyan.

Back to our incident. In the literally few second between Yaakov's announcement and the ברכו in our room, another -- we'll call him Yitzchak -- says, "Wait, I only want to daven with a minyan!" At which point another -- we'll call him Avraham -- says to Yitzchak (and everyone else), "So don't daven; we'll still have eight davening and you can daven later with a miyan." Yitzchak didn't answer, because it was not an option for him to come back later; which he thought was obvious to all. Yaakov, on the other hand, assumed that Yitzchak's silence indicated tacit agreement. I am being careful with the details because there was no question that everyone there wanted only to do the right thing.

I was there and also assumed that Yaakov would be davening with us. In any case, I realized upon reflection that evening that there was another option: I could have gone back to the main beis medrash to daven ma'ariv with the minyan, thus gaining תפילה בציבור. It would not be leaving nor even breaking a minyan -- there wasn't one, after all. It would take the amud away from the aveil, true. On the other hand, we would all (anyone who wanted to stay) would get תפילה בציבור.

As is my wont, I asked R' Fuerst what would have been the best thing to do; should I have left? No, the rav answered and explained: I had done a chesed for the aveil. Doing chesed is a Torah obligation, while תפילה בציבור is a Rabbinic obligation. Staying (and doing a chesed) was a better option than leaving, even though I would have gained תפילה בציבור. Simple halachic cost/benefit calculation.

Fine. But, honestly, I was a bit down. The consideration seems so simple and straightforward that I should have known that without even thinking, certainly I shouldn't have had to ask!

Then I realized that this was not a simple chesed/Torah vs miyan/Rabbinic question at all. Consider an extreme case where someone asks you to get an ice cream cone for them. Obviously, obviously, you don't abandon תפילה בציבור to do that favor/chesed. This "simple" answer given by R' Fuerst was built on knowing if there are any opinions that 10 in the room with only six davening is still considered תפילה בציבור (there are), on whether one large minyan is better than two smaller minyanim (there are different opinions on the subject), how important for the aveil to daven from the amud (and how important is it to the aveil himself), and so on and so on.

What is "simple and straightforward" for the rav is a whole shiur and mussar shmuz for me.