בבא מציעא סח

A new רב came to a Shul in Israel and saw that half the מתפללים stood when saying שמע and the other half sat. The half who stood insisted that it was the מנהג of the Shul to stand and the other half insisted it was to sit. Disturbed to see this מחלוקת, the רב and a delegation from both sides sought out the oldest of the מתפללים, a 95 year old man, and asked him what the מנהג was. “When you were a child,” one of the men asked, “wasn’t the מנהג to stand?” “No,” he said. “Aha!” another of the men said, “the מנהג was to sit!” Again the old man responded: “No. That wasn’t the מנהג.” Frustrated, the רב told him “You’ve got to remember what the מנהג was, because otherwise they’ll just constantly argue and fight about it in Shul.” “Yes,” the old man replied, “that was the מנהג.”

06/10/2021