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Oct 7, 2010
Interesting Psak: Minhagim of Baalei Teshuva
Rav Avraham Yosef, the Chief Rabbi of Holon and son of Rav Ovadia, is a very clear orator and has the great ability to break down the halacha he is discussing in a clear and direct manner. And, he is an expert in all areas of halacha, and in both the psak and minhag of sefardim and of ashkenazim. Anybody who has heard his talks on the radio knows that.
Rav Avraham Yosef is now following in his father's footsteps and promoting the psika of the sefardim, according to the Beit Yosef, as the overruling authority in Eretz Yisrael.
Rav Yosef recently said that while everyone should adhere to the customs of his anscestors, and therefore ashkenazim should follow minhagei ashkenaz, and sefardim should follow minhagei sefard, that only applies to religious people who have religious parents who kept those minhagim and piskei halacha. Anyone who is a baal teshuva, one whose parents are not religious and they themselves did not adhere to their minhagim and psakim, if such a person would become religious and start keeping minhagim and halacha, even an ashkenazi person would need ot keep the sefardic halacha and minhagim, as such a person has no ancestral custom to follow he must accept the sefardi custom which is the overruling authority in eretz yisrael.
I have heard before the psak that a baal teshuva has the ability to choose the minhagim he wishes to follow, and can even mix it up and pick minhagim from different eidot as he please. I have also heard the competing psak that a baal teshuva must figure out where his parents/grandparents/etc hail from and follow the corresponding set of minhagim (e.g. if from chassidic shtetls he must follow the minhagim of those chassidim, if litvishe then he must do that, if sefard...).
This is the first time I have heard this competing psak that baalei teshuva must keep minhagei sefard.
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even for a ger i heard that they make him follow the minhagim of the person who was mekarev him
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I haerd the same thing (from a ger) in the name of R' Ovadya Yosef that gerrim in Israel must follow minhag Sefard
ReplyDeleteIt's not news that Rav Odaiya holds that Minhag Eretz Yisrael is Sfardi.
ReplyDeleteFor example, he holds that an Ashkenzi davening in a Sfari shul should follow minhag hamakom and daven sfardi, similarly a sfardi davening in an ashkenaz shul should follow minhag hamakom and daven - sfardi (assuming that the shul is in Israel, not sure what he would say if a sfardi was davening in a shul in Poland).
There was a great clip of Rav Ovadia about a year ago talking about Tfilin; that Sfardim Follow Minhag of Shulchan Aruch and make one bracha, Ashkenazim follow the Rama and make 2 brachot, and they should continue to do this until Moshiach arrives and explains to them that they are mistaken.
I agree that is not new. what is new, to me, is that he holds an ashkenazi baal teshuva must keep minhagei sefard
ReplyDeleteLooks like I'll be eating rice this Pesach. :)
ReplyDeleteWADR, this seems to me a very, very bad idea.
ReplyDeleteOne of the great struggles of the children of Ba'alei Teshuva browing up in the frum community is the feeling thair ba'al teshuva parents "are not normal." This is something felt not only by them, but expressed to them by their peers.
An Ashkenazi following this psak would only serve to further alienate his children from those around them, further stigmatizing in a society that places a great, great premium on conformity.
Since you should follow the minhagim of your father, a ger should follow the minhagim of Avraham Avinu :-)
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