Comments on: Being Machmir (stringent) about being Meikil (lenient) – Rabbi Barry Gelman

By: Making Sure Jewdaism is Fair -By Rabbi Hyim Shafner « Morethodoxy: Exploring the Breadth, Depth and Passion of Orthodox Judaism

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:46:45 +0000

[...] then those are the places that leniency is appropriate. As my colleague Barry Gelman has written http://morethodoxy.org/2009/11/10/being-machmir-stringent-about-being-meikil-lenient-%E2%80%93-rabbi... and as I have written [...]

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:18:05 +0000

The title of your column, “being machmir about being meikel” is perhaps a play off R. Chaim of Brisk, who famously said regarding his lenient views regarding a sick person fasting on Yom Kippur that he “wasn’t being meikel on Yom Kippur, rather he was being machmir on pikuach nefesh”.

By: Mollie Adler

Mollie Adler — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:43:49 +0000

Just wanted to point out another perspective to the dishes scenario described above. This was discussed at a shabbos table I was at a few weeks ago. Someone new to orthodoxy might get a heter to use family dishes but when they have shabbos guests they are passing their heter onto others which could make people uncomforable. Any thoughts?

By: Shachar haamim

Shachar haamim — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:44:31 +0000

real heimische FFB Jews make egg salad and tuna fish on shabbat – just like our mothers and grandmothers did. only people who have a need to pull a book from a shelf for every little thing in their life have issues with this. this is not what turns off people from Orthodoxy

By: Pierre

Pierre — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:36:55 +0000

Using the language of ‘machmir’ or ‘maichel’ is PART OF THE PROBLEM, it is simply more evidence of Greek intrusion and dichotomy in the recesses of our minds (since many already seem comfortable calling ourselves by a Greek term – Orthodox).

A “maichel” opinion that entails FURTHER and deep application of Halachic principles, as well as allowing Torah-informed ethical considerations to go into the determination…includes MORE Torah than a simple “NO it is not permitted” answer that seems very frum! We need to stop stigmatizing OR ESTEEMING senseless words like “lenient” or “stringent”. A bit of this is unpacked in a fantastic but hard to find article “living in the shadow” in Nishma’s publication “Introspection”, 5760 #3.

By: David S

David S — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:48:05 +0000

I completely agree with the sentiments in the article. It stands in direct opposition to the ongoing effort to add the Torah by means of Chumrot. More Rabbis need to speak for the people here against an increasingly monastic yeshiva elite that does not feel it needs to take the real world into account.

By: ilanadavita

ilanadavita — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:13:57 +0000

Fine and insightful post.