Chumras

While this is true, I find that a lot of people have made the Ikkur Toful and the Toful Ikkur.”

Health, you could have been my Father O”H posting this. Those were his famous words.

It is one thing to make a fence around the Torah, as our Chachomim instructed. It is quite another thing to build a Torah Fort Knox and place it inside a glass bubble. Hashem gave us a perfect Torah. Lo Tosif.

“??? ???? ??????? ????

??? ????? ????? ?????? “

Sorry, Zeeskite; I can not believe you do not know what these words mean, as they represent your philosophy.

While these words express a spiritual aspiration of those who are most spiritually inclined; normative Halacha generally does not follow this approach.

The general rule in the Gemara is that we make fences around Biblical prohibitions and not around Rabbinic prohibitions.

When Halacha appears to be such, there is generally an explanation.

For example, the second day of Yom Tov is Rabbinic; and we generally observe Rabbinic prohibitions of work also on the second day. This is not to create a fence around a fence, but to keep the character of the second day the same as the first day.

Sorry, Zeeskite; I can not believe you do not know what these words mean, as they represent your philosophy.

I believe she meant that rhetorically.

When it comes to inyonei kedusha, it is normative halacha.

????? ???? ??? ???? ??: ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???

!???

“Torching your braces before Pesach.”

I love it!!!

I totally don’t mean this in a negative or ridiculing way. I am asking it out of being naive or just not understanding.

What is wrong with going into a public library? Because there are people who aren’t dressed according to halacha (which you will get in any supermarket or mostly any store for that matter) or is it that there can be inappropriate books there? If that is the reason, why can’t you just skip looking at those books and stick with the appropriate ones? Again, I am asking this question out of not understanding, not out of ridiculing.

“Don’t confuse chumras with OCD. “

OCD = Obsessive Chumra Definitions

The two are one and the same.

Mod.-80, suggesting someone is not a real charedi is another way of saying “they do not have Yiras Shamaim”(at least, in those circles) and posseling a person. And it is wrong to do that, unless they violated real issurim!

People send Pizzas to houses of Shiva

“Don’t confuse chumras with OCD. “

“OCD = Obsessive Chumra Definitions

The two are one and the same.”

Wrong. Chumras are ??? ???? ????? ??. OCD is a mental illness.

This person told me her husband won’t let her eat pizza during the 9 days because it’s not an appropriate food for mourning. Anybody ever hear of that?

Klutz Chumra. The whole issur (as well as wine) is Zecher L’churban of Basar Korbanos (and Nesachim). (Shaarei Teshuva on Hil. Tes B’Av), which is why scotch (or beer, the example there) is mutar.

Of course, if you are an Am HaAretz (like this person you mention), you can make up any “chumra” you want.

Mods, I hope you let this post through, though the topic where what I am quoting appeared, has been closed. I just wanted to answer non-confrontationally, the question that Daas Yochid posed.

(Daas Yochid): But why do certain people consistently follow the lenient approach, if not because it’s easier? Is the more stringent opinion in halachic matters not also “His will”?

But Daas Yochid, that is exactly the point. The lenient position IS the Halacha and there is absolutely nothing wrong in consistently following it, as long as it completely conforms to what Hashem asks of us, because that lenient position is exactly what He told us to do (in most cases, and not where a heter is given for some unusual circumstance). Hashem didn’t seek to make life hard for us. His Will is for us to “chai bahem.” Some people choose to follow more difficulty and stringency in their observance, and that is fine for them, and yeyasher kocham. But the danger lies in their assumption that others who do not follow their derech are LESS frum than they, and that is patently unfair both to assume that and worse, to voice it. Even as I type this I can envision certain individuals saying, “But we ARE more frum.”

The homeless guys practice that.

A number of years ago, before Selichos, Rabbi Reisman shlita spoke about Chumras. While he definitely did not advocate following every single chumra you can get your hands on, he did say (and here I am running out of suitable words to accurately and adequately describe what he said), that we say in selichos “al tavo bamishpat imanu”, now, hashem as the shofet, is certainly judging us, so what are we asking. He explained, that we are asking that hashem not sit in strict judgement of us. If we point to the “letter of the law” and say, hey, thats me, always to the letter of the law, then, he will look at us and say, hey, you broke one, the letter of the law says you deserve a punishment. However, if we approach him and say, I know the letter of the law says X, but look, I do more then the strict letter of the law, then hashem looks at us the same way. We are in essence asking hashem, just like we do not go strictly by the letter of the law, but go above and beyond, so to, when you deal with us, ignore the strict letter of the law and cut us some slack, so to speak. We should certainly have some area where we are able to point and make this plea of al tavo bamishpat imanu.

This person told me her husband won’t let her eat pizza during the 9 days because it’s not an appropriate food for mourning. Anybody ever hear of that?

The prohibitions of the nine days aren’t precisely about mourning. After all, a person who is actually sitting shiva is allowed to eat meat — and the nine days is NOT worse than actually sitting shiva.

What next? No ice cream? No soda? Seriously, what qualifies as “appropriate food for mourning” and not “appropriate food for mourning?”

The Wolf

And as I explained, that “chumra” is Am HaAratzus. At least the people in the gemorah had logical chumros!

I don’t think this has anything to do with being smarter than chazal. For one thing, I don’t see this as a chumrah at all, but a private hanhaggah. Would you be upset if he decided to button his shirt from bottom to top because he wants to be oleh b’kedusha?

Second, this doesn’t fall under the category of a gezeirah sherov hatzibbur yecholin la’amod bah, because he is not trying to establish this as a minhag for the tzibbur but his own private hanhaggah.

Third of all, I imagine that not eating pizza is not in direct mourn but to facilitate a somber atmosphere in his house. For some people, pizza is a fun food.