Tuesday 28 December 2010

Did Brisk Invent the "Cheftza Gavra" Method?

Recently While I was giving the Daf Yomi I came across this..

TB Z'vachim 31a on the Bottom

Rav Ashi asks:
What's the Halachah [re: piggul] when he planned to have one k'zayit eaten by TWO people?

Do we follow his machshavah and he has a k'zayit [the thought is one the cheftza]

Or

Do we follow the consumers who have only half a k"zayit each [Gavra]

[See Below for original]

The conclusion is not as important as realizing that a major component of Brisker Methodology is merely an echo of the Talmud's own methodology

Shalom
RRW

Text:

בעי רב אשי חישב לאכול כזית בשני בני אדם מהו בתר מחשבה אזלינן דאיכא שיעורא או בתר אוכלין אזלינן וליכא שיעורא

1 comment:

micha berger said...

I thik cheftza vs gavra emerges from Nedarim 2a.

The means in which Brisker derekh does not echo the talmud's methodology in its attempt to divorce halakhah from aggadita.

There are two articles about it in this month's Kol Hamevaser (a YU student paper). One is by R' Aryeh Klapper, "Can Retson Hashem matter in Lomdus?: Mitsvah ha-Ba’ah ba-Aveirah and the Limitations of Formalism".

The other is from some guy who writes about why he headed for Rav Dovid Lifshitz's shiur rather than remaining in the track that would lead to R' Herschel Schachter and the Rav, "Brisk and Telz". (Although it should be transliterated Telzh, but what do I know?)

Gavra vs cheftzah is nice, but not looking for why a given halakhah would revolve around one rather than the other robs the exploration of much of its power to make me a better Jew.

-micha