A Really Quick Guide
These are bullet points on which I will elaborate later, and which can be used as a quick reference guide when you want to make a halakhic decision. I will start with the ones we have already discussed.
- Know the sources well, at least on the issues which are really important to you.
- Ask a rabbi.
- Keep asking until you get a satisfying answer.
- “Yes” or “No” is not an answer. Ask “Why” and ask if there are other opinions.
- Fear of errors: if you know the scope of the mitzvah or prohibition, you can asses the risk of error.[1]
- Switching a custom: it is fine to switch your custom, and you don’t have to be consistent.[2]
- Public and private arenas: when switching a custom, it is important to respect the practice of the community.[3]
- Let them be 1: The Talmud says that we trust the people. They might not be prophets, but they are the children of prophets. That means that people intuitively understand what is the right thing to do.
- Let them be 2: The Talmud says that sometimes it is better not to rebuke people if you know they are not going to change their ways.[4]
- The Torah’s ways are pleasant: if certain Halakhot or practices cause you strife and anguish, something is wrong. This is not what the Torah wanted.
- Respect for others – Kevod HaBeriyot. The Torah is a combination of relationships with God and with fellow human beings. God does not want us to harm others for the sake of revering Him.[5]
- Do not waste: the Talmud says that the Torah cares for our expenses. It is the responsibility of the posek to make sure that observing Judaism is affordable for everyone.
- Do not forbid: It is forbidden to declare that something is forbidden if it is not.[6]
- Study history: the history of Halakha is not enough, it is important to study general history and to understand the circumstances and seat in life of a halakha or a practice.
- Accept the truth: Maimonides says that one must accept scientific truths, no matter what the religious beliefs of the author are. This obligates us to look, with honesty and integrity, at scientific and scholarly data.
[1] For example: does this food contain Kitniyot? Even if you err, it is still Kosher.
[2] At some point in the past, one of our ancestors switched his custom from that of his ancestors, so we are also entitled to do it. Also, we live in a global village and we all know of the different customs within the Jewish People.
[3] For example, an Ashkenazi can choose to eat rice at home on Pesah, but not bring a rice dish to a Pesah seder at the shul.
[4] Obviously, when what they are doing can find room within the broadest interpretation of Halakha.
[5] Again, within the margins of the law. For example, do not correct a Torah Reader in an embarrassing way, because his dignity is more important than accurate Torah reading. Or, allowing the use of umbrella on Shabbat for the sake of people’s dignity.
[6] For example, a rabbi who was asked to prove that my ruling that one can use mouthwash on Kippur, said after hours of research that he cannot say that it is forbidden. If you cannot say that it is forbidden, then it is allowed!
