My response to pinchas on the Kumah blog.

Here is the article on the kumah blog in which I took issue with a certain poster named pinchas.

http://www.kumah.org/2007/03/kotel-is-place-to-be-tuesday.html

Yehudhi said...

Pinchas, I must respond to your astounding statements.

"My Nusach was handed down to me from my father and to him from his father and so forth. It's a tradition that should not be taken lightly nor discarded easily."

And yet, your forefather and mine once prayed nusach Eretz Yisrael and they discarded it when they moved to France and Germany. Customs are supposed to change when you move from one locality to another. There is no reason to be more loyal to a Galuth Nusach than our forefathers were to nusach eretz yisrael.

"I don't know that 1000 year old nusach is better suited for today's generation than the common ones used today."

Perhaps if the Bavli Nusach made more sense when the Torah center of the world was in Hutz LaAretz, then conversely the Nusach Eretz Yisrael makes more sense when the Torah center is in our homeland.

"A unifying Nusach is a nice thought but it should be one that incorporates all Torah following traditions and is developed by recognized leaders of those respective traditions. "

Impossible, and if the recognized leaders are too afraid to establish a Sanhedrin, why should they be allowed to hold up the Geulah?

We should move on without them.

"It should not be formed unilaterally by one individual especially when it essentially discards thousands of years of traditions and changes that were adapted for a reason."

The Majority of Minhagim and changes were NOT purposely developed by Halakhic Poseqim. They were a result of the Tragic Galuth.

"And if you really want to go back in time each Jewish tribe actually had thier very own nusach - which is how I imagine it will be in Temple number three."

Not true, by the time the Shemona Esre was established, the Ten tribes were lost and nuschaoth were NEVER BASED UPON WHICH TRIBE YOU WERE FROM.

"Answer me this simple question. Why did the Rama write his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch? Didn't he realize he was violating the Rambam and the Mishnah which specifically commanded against making multiple kehilot?"

The Rama was giving pisqei din for Jews living in Europe. Seperate communities living in a certain geographical area seperated from their brothers in the middle east. He gave these pisqei din which gave some unity atleast for Jews living in a vast area of Europe.

Today's situation is very different. Jews live together in massive numbers in Israel and America and NO ONE gives Pisqei din for Israelis or Americans which would atleast unify American Jews and Israeli Jews. Instead we pretend that Jews living together in Jerusalem are each living in seperate countries. This one is Morrocan this one Yemenite this one is Lithuanian and this one is Polish.

This cause disunity in every single city and neighborhood in Israel and America. That is very different from the Rama whose pisqei din caused unity amoung millions of Jews.

"Torah Jews do NOT oppose change. We embrace it."

That is a ridiculous statement.

The Rallying cry for Torah Jewry for the last 200 years had been "Hadash assur min hatorah" meaning that which is new is forbidden by the Torah. Your statement is ludicrous seeing that hundreds of thousands of Jews are dressing like 16th century Prussian nobility while hundreds of thousands more dressing like they belong in 1930's Chicago minus the submachine gun.

"What Torah Jews oppose is radical change that discards hundreds of years of Torah Greats' teachings and of our father’s customs."

And yet, this has happened many times anyway. Where ancient customs like, ironically, the Nusach Eretz Yisrael and one day Rosh Hashana is Eretz yisrael was completely discarded in a very radical fashion.

"Both the Ashkanazi customs and the Sephardi customs are correct. And if one accepts they are both words of the living G-d we can live in harmony and still maintain our holy customs."

What planet are you living on? There is deep disunity in the Jewish based primarily on our continued identification with countries in the Galuth.

We can end this and you have no desire to do so.

"An Ashkanazi can easily invite his Moroccan neighbor over for a pesach meal and the neighbor can return the favor on Sukkot."

How about vice versa?

"Or even better! Imagine if your friend was a vegetarian. Wouldn’t you prepare food he could eat? The same could be done today with kitniyot. Your Moroccan neighbor can prepare a meal you can eat."

Or maybe he can stop identifying himself with Morrocco and me with Poland and we can return to being a unified nation of Jews living in our homeland.