What is the underlying argument between the Chazon Ish and Rabbi Chaim Naaeh and Reb Moshe Feinstein? I know they argue in amounts, but what is the underlying argument? How did each get the Measurement he got, why do they argue, and what about?
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From what I've heard, it all starts with how you measure a "thumb-width", and from there multiply up to "handbreadth" (tefach), "cubit" (ama), and so on. The thumb-width question is whether it's measured from the narrower or wider part of the thumb. |
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Another issue, though perhaps unrelated to the above opiners, is that these measurements are not stable with human appendages being a siman. Rather, the width of an average thumb defines the measurement, which can change with changing generations. Rav Moshe uses this logic (quoting the Chasam Sofer/Chavos Yair) as one apology for why the Chasam Sofer had a larger shiur than he. |
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