Q&A: Halakhic Customs
Halakhic Customs
Question
What is the force of the obligation to follow “halakhic customs”? Originally they were created through the rulings of a local rabbi, the local halakhic authority, who would rule Jewish law for the community…
But why should that obligate each person to act in accordance with him if he holds differently? And especially once people have already left that place, why should the fact that I came from that same place cause me to have to rule like the rabbi of that place ruled there two hundred years ago? The question applies both leniently (in Morocco, rabbis held that electricity is considered fire and therefore it is permitted to turn it on on the Sabbath. So what?), and stringently…
I admit that it makes sense that there is a need for an authorized body to interpret Jewish law (something like the role of the Sanhedrin)… That makes sense regarding broad-based acceptances, like accepting the rulings of the Shulchan Arukh, Rema, Maimonides… But even there, in many laws (especially among Ashkenazim), the halakhic decisors ruled differently… Does a collection of local rulings become binding?
But why should that obligate those who come from that place…
Answer
Jewish law gives force to custom (by virtue of “do not forsake your mother’s teaching” or under the laws of vows). True, originally the custom followed the place and not one’s origin, but today place is too dynamic a parameter, and so the practice shifted to the customs of one’s community and ancestors (=origin). Since the laws of customs themselves are also created by custom, the custom today is that the determining parameter regarding customs is origin and not place. Something similar applies to the prohibition of “do not form separate factions,” which forbids two synagogues in one city, whereas today that is done everywhere. That is because the concept of a “city” today is community and not place (and even that is not really observed strictly).
Still, the customs being discussed deal with questions that are not halakhic. These are various practices that people adopted (such as kapparot, or different formulations in prayer). But the question of custom also comes up in a halakhic context, when there are several approaches and in a certain place they customarily ruled in accordance with one of them. My personal opinion is that if this is a halakhic question, then the custom is not binding. If you are Ashkenazi and you hold like the author of the Shulchan Arukh, you should practice accordingly. In Jewish law, only if the law is uncertain in your hands should you follow the custom (Jerusalem Talmud). However, in a place where there is a custom accepted by the entire Jewish people, that is binding even in Jewish law, since the Talmud in Sanhedrin states that one who rules otherwise is considered to have erred in judgment (ruling against the generally accepted practice). This requires more elaboration, and this is not the place for it.