Thursday 11 February 2010

Comparison: Aruch haShulchan vs. Mishnah Brurah

AIUI
Litvisher Rabbonim and posqim like AhS because he taught one how to analyze a sugya and how to pasqen

OTOH
Roshei Yeshiva liked MB better for yeshiva-leit - aiui because of the author's Mussar orientation.

Anyway it's like Rashi and Tosafot, IMHO you really need multiple approaches to see issues from varying perspectives.

And Ideally I would add the Kaf haChayyim to the mix and have a virtual Beth Din

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Editorial:
I'm not such a big fan of s'farim that bring down the bottom line pisqei MB. The sefer's essential maaleh TO ME is what he says, and not so much how he pasqens on a given issue. And if one strips the context one loses the essence.

IOW, to me the MB's bottom line is not quite that important as is his lessons.

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Shloymie: so whose bottom line IS important?

RRW: Good point! I'm not sure but I do like R Mordechai Eliyahu's approach of 5 authors VIZ.

R Y Karo
Ben Ish Chay
Kaf Hachayyim
SA Harav [via misgeret Hashulchan]
MB

If I would add on - I would have also included. AhS and R Moshe Feinstein.

KT
RRW

3 comments:

micha berger said...

Where is the MB's "Mussar Orientation"?

It's a straight "people who fear for their soul would play it safe" attitude to a survey of pesaqim. Nothing about avoiding chumros that have potential interpersonal impact, on anything else particularly mussar-y.

The author even says in the haqdamah that the book is about the survey of post-SA-page sources, not his personal conclusion. And so, it's likely that "play it safe" notation wasn't even intended to replace current practice, but just a flourish to the survey.

The MB became a central seifer of pesaq by a generation of Slabodka alumni who came to America before American O found its legs and therefore had low expectations of what they could accomplish here. Same reason why they didn't actually try establishing a Slabodka. It's not a "Mussar Orientation", it's a focus on trying to provide a simple cut-n-dry.

-micha

micha berger said...

The bit I was trying to refer to: "I'm not such a big fan of s'farim that bring down the bottom line pisqei MB. The sefer's essential maaleh TO ME is what he says, and not so much how he pasqens on a given issue. And if one strips the context one loses the essence."

It's not just "TO [YOU]", it's to the Chafeitz Chaim as well.

-micha

Rabbi R Wolpoe said...

I have shared this idea of MB's Mussar orientation with several friends. They seem to get it right away.

But I really should credit Rabbi Hecht for first pointing this out to me over 20 years ago.

So as I see it, the Roshei in Yeshiva in America like the "gefeel" of the MB