Apr 9, 2012
Rav Kooks Approach To 2nd Day Yom Tov
The discrepancy of the way the 2nd day of yom tov is kept in Israel by foreigners relative to the way one day is kept in the Diaspora by Israelis always bothered me.
In Israel, 2nd day yom tov is practically flaunted. There are minyanim to be found in any area with a decent percentage of Anglo olim. People are announcing both the existence of, and the search for, 2nd seders. Israelis (anybody keeping one day) are asked to be "yom tov goys" in semi-jest, semi-seriousness.
In the USA, you cannot find a minyan of 1-day people, at least not easily.The 1-day people are basically told they have to act like 2-day people, cannot perform melacha even in private, must show up at the 2nd seder (while not making kiddush or other holiday-related-obligatory brachot) and go to shul as if it is the holiday when it is not, etc.
As serious as they are about keeping the minhag hamakom in chutz laaretz is also how they flaunt the lack of adherence to minhag hamakom in Israel. And that always bothered me.
I remember learning once how Rav Shlomo Zalman [Auerbach] was asked about a minyan for 2nd day yom tov [in Jerusalem] and he allowed it because it has already become so prevalent. I dont remember if he said the minhag had changed or if it was no longer considered a breach in the local minhag. Either way, he allowed it. So I know, perhaps academically, why. But it still bothers me.
I saw this fascinating article about how Rav Kook related to the keeping of 2nd day yom tov in Eretz Yisrael:
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In Israel, 2nd day yom tov is practically flaunted. There are minyanim to be found in any area with a decent percentage of Anglo olim. People are announcing both the existence of, and the search for, 2nd seders. Israelis (anybody keeping one day) are asked to be "yom tov goys" in semi-jest, semi-seriousness.
In the USA, you cannot find a minyan of 1-day people, at least not easily.The 1-day people are basically told they have to act like 2-day people, cannot perform melacha even in private, must show up at the 2nd seder (while not making kiddush or other holiday-related-obligatory brachot) and go to shul as if it is the holiday when it is not, etc.
I remember learning once how Rav Shlomo Zalman [Auerbach] was asked about a minyan for 2nd day yom tov [in Jerusalem] and he allowed it because it has already become so prevalent. I dont remember if he said the minhag had changed or if it was no longer considered a breach in the local minhag. Either way, he allowed it. So I know, perhaps academically, why. But it still bothers me.
I saw this fascinating article about how Rav Kook related to the keeping of 2nd day yom tov in Eretz Yisrael:
In 1934, many tourists arrived in Eretz Yisrael for the Pesach holiday. Hundreds ascended to Jerusalem, excited to celebrate the festival in the holy city.
The Jewish National Fund, wishing to properly welcome these guests - and potential donors - decided to organize a Seder for them on the second day of Passover. In order to attract religious Jews, the JNF turned to the chief rabbi, requesting that he sponsor the event and supervise the kashrut of the festive meal.
Ordinarily, Rav Kook was happy to help the JNF and promote the redemption of land in Eretz Yisrael. On this occasion, however, he refused. He was not willing to take part in organizing a second Seder in Jerusalem. Observing the holiday for an additional day - that is a matter for Jews living in the Diaspora, he explained. We who live in the Land of Israel must guard the honor of Eretz Yisrael.
The Honor of the Land of Israel
Why did Rav Kook so oppose a public second Seder?
Like other Halakhic authorities in Jerusalem, he favored the opinion of the Chacham Zvi, who ruled that a tourist visiting in Eretz Yisrael should act like a local resident and observe only one day of Yom Tov.
In practice, he would tell visitors from outside of Israel that they should recite the regular weekday prayers and don tefillin on the second day of Yom Tov; they should observe the second day only by avoiding forbidden work, and not eating chametz on the eighth day of Passover.
Yet this ruling was difficult for many religious Jews to accept. They were accustomed to the holiday service on the second day of Yom Tov; and the second Passover Seder was particularly important to them. How could they skip one year, knowing that the following festival they would once again be observing two days of Yom Tov?
Once a rabbi, visiting from Pressburg, arrived in Jerusalem and sought Rav Kook's counsel as to what he should do on the second day of Yom Tov.
When Rav Kook heard the question, he gave a pained look. 'Most tourists don't even ask. And the few who do ask, do not abide by the ruling. So why should I give a ruling?'
It was only after the visitor persisted, promising to follow the chief rabbi's decision, did Rav Kook give his ruling, as described above.
Rav Kook added: Imagine if ten Jews from Israel entered a synagogue in the Diaspora on the second day of Yom Tov, and pubicly donned tefillin and prayed the weekday service. Would there not be a hot and vociferous reaction?
The Halakha in such a case is that one should pray the weekday prayers and don tefillin in private. But publicly, one should wear holiday clothes and outwardly observe the holiday,
Why then do the Jews of Diaspora fail to understand, even if they choose not to follow the ruling of the Chacham Zvi, that the honor of Eretz Yisrael requires them to observe the second day of Yom Tov in private? Yet they insist on organizing public festival prayers on the second day - even at the Kotel!
Rav Kook's Condition
The JNF representatives, who understood the importance of the chief rabbi's participation for their plan of a second Seder for the visitors, deliberated how to overcome his refusal. In the end they approached one of the older students in his yeshivah with the proposal that, for a very respectable fee, he supervise the Seder. But they stipulated that the young man secure Rav Kook's approval for the event.
The student, unaware of Rav Kook's previous refusal, happily accepted the proposition. (The amount offered, in terms of the economic conditions of the time, was sufficient to provide for his family's needs for several months.) He quickly went to the Rav to gain his approval.
Rav Kook was now confronted with a difficult dilemma. Always sensitive to the needs of others, he realized how important the offer was to the young scholar and his family. But what about the honor of Eretz Yisrael?
After considering the matter for a few moments, Rav Kook's face lit up. 'Please tell the JNF,' he replied, 'that I too have a condition. If they are willing to fulfill my condition, I will give my hechsher and authorize the event.'
The Rav continued. 'My condition is that they invite the band of the Jerusalem Institute for the Blind to play music at the Seder. And the publicity for the Seder must prominently advertise the band's participation.'
'After all,' he concluded, 'everyone knows that musical instruments are not played on a Jewish holiday. A Passover Seder with a band playing in the background -- that is no Seder!'
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Great story! On a related note, to this day, Rav Kook's great-nephew, Rav Simcha HaKohein Kook of Rechovot, won't let anyone publicize second-day minyanim in Rechovot.
ReplyDeleteI don't claim to know better than Rav Kook, but perhaps someone could explain to me what 'the honor of Eretz Yisrael' means here? (A little background:)
ReplyDeleteI always thought (and still assume) that the reason that Israelis must keep two days in Chu"l is because of the halacha of נותנין עליו חומרי המקום שיצא משם וחומרי המקום שיצא לשם -- a person must always be stringent according to the stringencies of the place he is staying, in order to avoid strife that could occur should people see him being מקיל according to his own place's מנהג.
In Israel, though, where there isn't a הלכה that one must בדווקא *do מלאכה* on Chol HaMoed, then I would think that there is no 'חומרא' of *doing מלאכה* that a chutznik one must take on when coming to Israel.
Now I understand that Rav Kook disagreed with the application of this הלכה, and held that tourists in Israel should keep just one day. (Presumably he also held Israelis should keep two days in Chu"l completely, including davening and kiddush and everything...) But assuming that someone held like most Poskim today (that I've heard from), that a tourist in Israel does keep two days, then what is the problem in doing so even publicly? There is no problem of "נותנין עליו חומרי המקום שיצא לשם" because as discussed, there is no "חומרא" or any הלכה to בדווקא *do* work on חול המועד.
Rav Kook seems to agree with this, as he gives a different, new reason for chutznikim not to keep two days publicly: the honor of Eretz Yisrael. Can someone explain his סברא? How is Eretz Yisrael dishonored when one refrains from doing מלאכה, or makes a seder, or הקפות?
One of the issues is the issur of lo titgodedu which is the reason why Israelis in chutz laaretz cannot organize a minyan to Daven the davening of chol or chol hamoed on the 2nd day of Yom tov.
Deleteeven without doing melacha there is still an issue with, for example, publicly making minyanim
ReplyDeleteWhat is that issue? According to the article you quoted, Rav Kook defines that issue as 'honor of Eretz Yisrael.' Can this be explained?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how to define what is the honor of eretz yisrael. my point was that the issue is not just one of doing melacha.
DeleteI would suggest as part of the way of explaining honor might be acting in eretz yisrael as if you were in chutz laaretz.
Excellent and important post. One of my biggest complaints about the Artscroll machzor is that many chaggim here in Israel just don't jive with their instructions. Simchat Torah and chol hamoed Succot are all off, without options for those who live here.
ReplyDeleteI remeber hearing a psak (Rav unknown) who stated that since all Jews are supposed to be in Eretz Yisrael, tourists must keep our Halacha in the hope that they will be staying.
Very interesting post, thank you.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that Rav Shlomo Zalman's shul would indeed NOT allow 2nd day minyanim, in accordance with the mishna brura that rules that 2nd day observers in Israel should daven privately and discreetly in their own houses. Furthermore, I was told that the gabbai'im of the shul carry on with the p'sak to this day, at the significant cost of lost revenues from aliya auctions.
ReplyDeleteAnyone from the neighborhood able to confirm or deny this?
when i lived near sharei chesed, i was told that RSZA strongly opposed second day minyanim, going by the psak that this is a violation of "לא תתגודדו". people who keep second day will pray at qahal chassidim,where they will sell the aliyot and bring in huge amounts of money. beit knesset hagra, where RSZA davened, doesn't allow second day minyanim, despite the financial loss incurred.
ReplyDeleteplease note that RSZA wasn't saying that people should keep one day. he simply opposed the minyan. IIRC correctly, this is also the psak of the MB.
yitz you beat me by 4 minutes!
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember the sefer yom tov sheni khilchoso quotes RSZA as saying the reason why it is ok to have 2nd day yom tov minyanim despite it being wrong technically is because by now it has already become so prevalent. Meaning, the people who started doing it publicly were wrong, but they created a situation that became so common that now it can be done.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look for it. Maybe I am remembering the source incorrectly.
I thought the issue of keeping one day in Chul is maaras ayin, which applies even b'chedrai chadarim.
ReplyDeleteBatya, Artscroll publishes a siddur for Eretz Yisrael, called Ner Naftali. You will find everything you need with the proper instructions, just not laid out in order like a machzor. My guess is that they haven't made machzorim like this because there isn't enough demand.
ReplyDeleteKeeping minhag hamakom is giving honour to the place and those living there. Possibly Lo sisgodeddu and probably al yeshane meminhag hamakom. Y.... I believe this goes to the essence of R Kooks' approach (great-uncle and great-nephew) and the role of a Kohein and of a Chief Rabbi, to foster Shalom and being for the Nation, not just a part thereof. To love Shalom and facilitate it among people is tough sometimes but this is an example of unifying Jews and avoiding machloket. His creativity fir getting the blind musicians was also example of what communal leaders need to do to achieve Shalom and a best outcome, to be able to think beyond strict halachic lines and accept a creative approach for the sake of Shalom, chase it, it's worth it. May Israel be blessed with such capable and creative Chief Rabbis, lovers of Shalom.
ReplyDelete