I was in the supermarket the other day trying to decide between two boxes of cereal and I decided to pick the one that did not have pritzus on it. Leka darka achrina is a very hard thing to pasken. On the one hand, we are allowed to live “normal” lives, on the other hand, if something is not necessary and causes an issur, it is assur. Defining “necessary” is the hardest part. In this particular case I really couldn’t care less which cereal to choose so I chose the one without pritzus. But what if I davka wanted that one, am I allowed to buy it or am I mechuyav to pass on it since there are other choices even though I don’t like the other choices as much? What if I have a child screaming for the other one?
Another story that comes to mind is a friend of mine was giving somebody driving directions. He mentioned that the fastest way was to take a certain road but that road has some bad billboards so he suggests taking a different route even though it could add a few minutes to the drive. This really struck me because I always wonder why people are in such a rush when driving. I see people swerving between lanes and wonder how much time they actually save and what risk they are putting themselves and others into to save a few minutes and often they will hit traffic down the road and not save any time anyway. In this case, the person was davka suggesting to add a few minutes to the drive to avoid pritzus. Those people who are always in a hurry would never think of this and even after hearing the reason might scoff and say that it is an extra, unnecessary, holier-than thou, chumra. But is it? There is a halacha of leka darcka achrina and here there is clearly another derech. Does the extra few minutes take away it’s status as a daarka achrina? Every case is different but it is… something to think about. (Sorry Rabbi Salomon I had to do that)