The Brisker method is also known as the "conceptual" approach to Talmud study and is often referred to simply as lomdus (lit.
[1] Once the mechanism by which a law works is rigidly and correctly defined, it can become clear that one aspect of the definition applies in one situation but not another.
The Brisker method can provide a precise formulation of how each Rishon understood the topic and thus account for their differences in opinion.
This approach is most spectacular when a whole series of debates between two Rishonim can be shown to revolve around a single "chakira", or difference in the understanding of a Talmudic concept.
[2] Another benefit of this approach is that it helps clarify the puzzling Talmudic statement that "Elu vi'Elu Divrey Elokim Chaim" (lit.
It is easier, then, to accept that both opinions are Divinely justifiable approaches, as their fundamental point of departure is theoretical rather than physical in nature.
The notes that Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik used for his lectures at the yeshiva of Volozhin (years before he assumed the Brisk pulpit) are still extant today, and the approach found there is not as well-developed as in (his and others') later published works.
The Brisker method has a certain parallel in the Dor Revi'i (commentary on Hullin) of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner.
These include Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (1878–1953) (known as the Chazon Ish), who felt that often the existing approach to a Talmudic portion was sufficient.
For example, the Talmud requires "panim chadashos" (meaning "a new presence" or "new faces") at the Sheva Brachos celebration, i.e. a guest must be present who had not attended the wedding.
"So if you were at a Sheva Brachos party, and you looked around and everyone there had already been at this couple's wedding, why not just take some meat and burn it to ashes?
Clearly, the phrase "panim chadashos" has different meanings in the contexts of wedding celebrations and sacrificial meat.
[4] The Rogachover responded that the original Mazel Tov that R Chaim had wished him at his wedding was also constantly being renewed and so would suffice.