DovBear: My approach to Kitniyot

Interesting, but, IMHO very wrong, blog post by a guest blogger on DovBear's blog: My approach to Kitniyot. I commented there, and copied that comment here:

RbbC, the reason I do not agree with your opinion is all these chumrot and minhagim were invented because at the time of their invention they were relevant. It's all a question of relevancy. The chumrah of kitniyot became relevant in medieval Europe because of how they grew and stored crops. Interestingly, it was not a relevancy in Spain or the Middle East. Just the regions of Europe east of Spain. Had there been no relevancy to this chumrah, it never would have been invented. Or, had the relevancy gone away during that same generation or one or two that followed, the rabbis simply would have rescinded it. In fact, Reb Yaakov Emden and the Chacham Tzvi objected strenuously to this chumrah (see here an article about it posted on my blog with a link to the original article).

Take another silly chumrah: Second day of yom tov shel Galuyot. It's just stupid, but because of "minhag Avoteinu b'yadeinu," we keep it. Why? It's simply no longer relevant. It wasn't 1500 years ago when Hillel HaKatan set the calendar. Further, had they had better modes of communication back in the days of the Second Bet HaMikdash (even something as simple as a telegraph), the idea would never have been invented. I don't think, and have never thought, that keeping idiotic chumrot and Minhagim are honoring our ancestors, who I'm sure would gladly have not kept them if they had that option. Their lives would have been much easier. In fact, I think quite the opposite. I think if we DIDN'T have to keep these chumrot any longer, THAT would be honoring our ancestors, who I'm quite sure would be happy to know we don't have to live under the idiocies under which they lived from necessity. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd be horrified to learn we still have chumrot that are completely irrelevant to our lives today.

And yes. I do hold by second day of Yom Tov (I live in the States) simply because if I didn't, I wouldn't be considered a frum Jew and no one would eat in my house. But most people who know me, including my rav, who is also my chavrusa, know of my objections.
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