Interesting Customs on Pesach

Can you say baguette?

mik5: do you wear tefillin on Chol Hamoed?

You don’t see the point in being as frum as the Steipler?

If you would be מקבל on yourself not to eat gebrokts, do you think that would be a Neder L’dvar Mizvah? The Chasam Sofer did.

For the record, I also eat gebrokts. But not for the reasons you stated.

So the Chofetz Chaim was frummer than the Vilna Gaon?

It is known that the Kamenetzky mishpacha minhag is to eat gebrokts although R’ Yaakov did not. To avoid eating in someone’s house he told them he didn’t eat gebrokts. Since R’ Yaakov was makpid on Midvar Sheker Tirchak he never ate gebrokts after that.

mik5: There is also a minhag not to eat before Tekias Shofar. Also, my kos is in accord with the Chazon Ish and I drink the full cup.

Is that a yes or a no?

“For obvious reasons,…”

/yes Its obvious that your arguemtn doesnt hold water.
Keeping Gebrokts isnt about being frummer (at least it shouldnt be) IT is about keeping minhagim, following mesora, which is a key theme of PEsach.

Your point regarding kula vs chumra is right, but thats true regarding any minhag. I assume you keep Kitniyos even though it too detracts from Simchas Yom Tov.

“If someone has a mesora not to eat gebrots, that is one thing. But in the absence of such a mesora, there is no advantage (halachically) to refrain from eating them,”

did anyone say otherwise?

For obvious reasons, I will not answer the question of whether the Chofetz Chaim was frummer than the Vilna Gaon.

You sound intelligent enough to understand that DY was not asking your opinion to rate two Gedoilim but was aptly pointing out a basic discrepancy in your posts.

I reviewed the sugya of gebrokts many times. There are strong reasons to not see it as issur involved. The poskim who weigh in on this almost unanimously conclude that it is completely muttar. The matter at hand is Pesach chumros, which are considered symbolic of the Avodas Hashem vs. Milchemes Hayetzer issue, and the deciding factor is Mesoras Avos. In consistency with the greatest dynamic of Pesach being למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך, the handing down of tradition in terms of minhag is to be recognized for how great it is. I have a dear friend who is chassidish in every way, but comes from a choshuv family that have connections to the Chasam Sofer. He eats gebrokts at the seder. It was difficult for his wife to accept that, coming from a family that did not eat gebrokts, but she got used to it. Gebrokts was not associated with any other “kulos”, and is a minhag that deserves the same respect as those considered “chumros”.

“Not to say the word bread or bagel (what on earth is the reason for this one)?

There are many groups of chassidim who refused to use the word bread all through Pesach. They also would not say the word “rain” during Sukkos. Perhaps this draws focus to the power of speech, that the spoken word takes on greater value than a passing sound. Maybe, just maybe, we should think of that message when we feel the desire to share lashon horah.

There are many more very interesting minhagim on Pesach. In Skver, they have a far more restricted diet that anyone else, refusing to eat carrots and several other vegetables that are staples in most other homes. While I have seen some of their published writings about their minhagim, and seen them with a trace of humor, I needed to step back and recognize that their minhagim are mesora based, which is one of the most important pieces of Pesach. Some break the middle matzoh for afikoman, place it on their shoulder, and parade around the table or room, reciting the posuk, “משארותם צרורות בשמלתם על שכמם”. Not having experienced this minhag, I can find it amusing. But there were tzaddikim who practiced this minhag, and others who lauded it even if they themselves did not do it. Choices of vegetable for karpas are also interesting. It is said that the Gerrer Rebbe (בית ישראל) used banana. In the chassidic groups of Ropschitz and Tzanz, they made a brocho of Shehakol on potatoes all year, but בורא פרי האדמה on Pesach. I don’t get that one at all.

The משנה ברורה in רצ”ז explains that one.

(א) מברך על הבשמים – והברכה הוא בורא מיני בשמים על איזה מין שהוא אף שבחול צריך לברך על כל מין כברכתו [דהיינו על עצי בשמים בורא עצי בשמים ועל עשבי בשמים בורא עשבי בשמים וכדלעיל בסימן רט”ז ועי”ש עוד כמה פרטים בזה] מ”מ במו”ש מברכין על הכל בורא מיני בשמים כדי שלא יבואו לטעות ההמון עם שאין הכל בקיאין בכל ברכה המיוחדת אבל בברכה זו יוצא על הכל וכמש”כ שם בס”א ומ”מ לכתחלה טוב יותר שיקח לבשמים דבר שברכתו בורא מיני בשמים כגון המוסק שקורין פיז”ם או נעגילע”ך שגם זה להרבה אחרונים ברכתו הוא בורא מיני בשמים מותר לברך במ”ב על פלפלין שקורין ענגילש”ע פעפע”ר שגם זה הוא בכלל בשמים אבל בסתם פלפלין יש דעות בין הפוסקים והוי ספק ברכה וכן זנגביל שקורין אינגבע”ר

mik5:
Much more important than the so-called “prohibition” of not eating gebrots is, for example, to keep yoshon and to be makpid about zmanim (for Mincha and krias Shema).

You do realize that these options are in no way mutually exclusive…

Just because X is more important than Y does not mean that Y should be completely disregarded. And I hope you’ll agree that keeping to a minhag that is several hundred years old does have value.

It should be noted that with all due respect to the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Moshe felt that if there is a machlokes between the MB and the Aruch HaShulchan, we should go like the Aruch HaShulchan because he was a rav and the Chofetz Chaim was not a rav. However, the yeshivishe velt is noheg that the MB is the posek acharon.

I’ve been told that the Chazon Ish considered the MB to be the mainstay of Halacha, but this view does seem to be the standard even amongst non-ChazonIshniks.

In many chassidishe shuls, there is a common practice to provide tikun (liquor with some cake/cookie mezonos). It is usually to observe someone’s yahrtzeit, and that the wishing of l’chaim is traditional. There is more to say about this minhag. What is typical is that one of the tables in the shul is where this happens, and siddurim from all year round are frequently left around. In addition, people tend to use siddurim when there is eating during the year, such as Shalosh Seudos, or if there is a kiddush, sholom zochor, or a tish (if the Rebbe of that shul conducts one). Regardless, finding siddurim in close contact with chometz is common, and it is judged best to simply do a cursory job of cleaning them, and not using them on Pesach.