Had you asked me to name the most popular work of Jewish law, right on top of my list would be the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. True, these days the Mishne Berura has been popularized in the yeshiva world to the point that it eclipses everything else, but the Kitzur still has a place, and the Kitzur covers far more than just the O.C. topics of the M.B. or Chayei Adam. What Jewish home does not have a Kitzur?
When I came across the M.B. in 117:15 quoting the Kitzur, I scratched my head and wondered why this seemed like an anomaly; I could not remember offhand more times that the M.B. quotes the Kitzur. I don't pretend to know MB backwards and forwards, so I asked my son, who has an Otzar haChochma, to run a search using their database to try to find how many other references to the Kitzur there are in M.B. He came back to me with a disclaimer that the search is not so good, and I'm not sure which roshei teivos or combination of roshei teivos he used (e.g. קיצור שׁ״ע, קצשׁ״ע, etc), but even so, he only came up with 2 other references: a Shaar haTziyun in 27:49 and a Biur Halacha in 401:11. Pretty sparse pickings.
Isn't it amazing that here you have one of the most popular works of halacha (the Kitzur was reprinted multiple times in the author's lifetime, so its popularity was established), yet the M.B. hardly refers to it?
In his day and in Litta, Chayei Adam / Chokhmas Adam would have been more likely than the Qitzur. Even among the immigrants in the US from Litta and the Northern parts of Poland, the rav giving a shiur in CA was far more common than learning Qitzur. Expecting the Qitzur in the MB would be anachronistic.
ReplyDelete(This was the same generation when the MB hadn't yet eclipsed the SA as well, and rabbanim and rashei yeshiva were split over which to focus on.)
The Mishnah Berurah wasn't about getting to the popular opinion, it was about getting to the authoritative one. His goal, as stated on both the original title page and in the introduction, is to give a survey of opinions that post-date the standard Shulchan Arukh page, and therefore many rabbanim wouldn't have on hand. So, it's what sefarim he thought ought be popular among posqim and LORs or just people who want to learn lehalakhah velo lemaaseh, not the most popular guidebook for the masses.
I would even question whether the MB itself was intended halakhah lemaaseh. Many sefarim claim not to be when they were, just out of a polite statement of anavah. But here... the Chafeitz Chaim himself didn't hold like the MB on many things -- from helping Radun put up a community eiruv, to tucking his tzitzis in, to the famous story where a bachur was uncomfortable making havdalah using the small kos Rebbetzin Zaks gave him - until she replied "but it was my father's becher!"
I find that fascinating - that in some cases the MB himself did not accord with the MB! :)
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