Rabbi Gil Student posts: The Jewish Press had a review a few weeks ago of Minhagei Lita: Customs of Lithuanian Jewry by R. Menachem Mendel Poliakoff. In the book, the author discusses the customs he observed in Lithuania in the 1930s. Here is an interesting quote from the review (link):
For instance, on page 63 of Minhagei Lita: Customs of Lithuanian Jewry, Rabbi Poliakoff writes, "No one in Lithuania wore his tzitzis hanging out as people do today – not even the Rabbonim, not even in Radin."
DF posts: I read this book, and also know the author quite well from my Baltimore days. [Though he does not know me.] This book is classic Rabbi Poliakoff. I absolutely love it. He even spends quite a bit of pages detailing the precise tunes and nusach of the davening in Telshe.
I was surprised to see him advocating for the abolishment of yomtov sheni, but happily surprised. He’s quite right, of course, that we have no business keeping it today, all terutzim and lomdishe justifications nonwithstanding. Many orthodox Jews feel this way, and I’m sure many rabbonim feel the same way too, privately. It’s rare to see an orthodx rabbis say so publicly in a book. I guess when youre in your 90s, kenanyhora, you pretty much dont care what anyone says anymore.
Rabbi Ari Enkin posts: I remember once seeing from what seemed to be a reliable source that the Mishna Berura which says that tzitzit must be worn out was inserted by students and not written by the Chafetz Chaim himself.
In any event, it does seem that the C.C. himself did not wear his tzitzit out.
Doesnt bother me too much though, even R’ Moshe didint follow everything written in the Igros Moshe.
MOSHE DAVID POSTS: The M.B. is simply quoting the Magen Avraham.
It’s known that the M.B. did not do everything he writes. The classic example is his kiddush cup which is smaller than his shiur.
There seems to be an assumption, though, by the reviewer that people wear their tzitzis out because they think this is what was done in Lithuania. I think that assumption is incorrect. I think people wear their tzitzis out because the M.B. says to, period.
An issue that the reviewer did not mention is standing during chazaras hashatz. I don’t know what the custom was in Lithuania but the M.B. writes to stand during chazaras hashatz. Yet, RSZA once said regarding standing during chazaras hashatz that this was a minhag in some places in Europe and in Hungary the custom was to sit.
David emails: Rabbi Kaminetsky, in his book, Making of a Gadol, records that Lituhuanina Jews who decided to let their tzitzith hang out were dismised from the Yeshival. I don’t recall the page but it is in there. So much for this “frumkeit/halachah” not known to our Lithuanian great Rabbis.
