Halacha2goThe one minute halacha

733. Can I Pasken from Halacha2go?

The Rambam’s Sefer HaYad (12^th century fourteen-book compendium also called Mishneh Torah) incorporates kol haTorah kulah (the entirety of Halachah) in very concise form. The mitzvah of Talmud Torah demands yedias haTorah (knowledge of Torah), which is an imperative to study all 613 mitzvos. This includes even those mitzvos and halachos that can be fulfilled only when Moshiach comes. Practically speaking, the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is one of the only sefarim to comprehensively cover every single halachah (see Halachah #453).*

Despite its advantages, the Rambam’s method was under attack; the Rosh (13^th century halachic authority) specifically states that we may not pasken (rule) halachah from the Rambam, since his succinct style offers no reasoning for the halachic conclusions therein. Hilchos Talmud Torah (the laws of studying Torah) of Shulchan Aruch Harav (18^th century halachic compendium) codifies it: Halachah should not be paskened from a sefer that does not incorporate halachos b’tameihen (halachic rationale), at least b’derech ketzarah (on a basic level). He further maintains that such study is not sufficient to fulfill true yedias haTorah.

Nevertheless, we find a proliferation of codified and concise Halachah sefarim emerging even after the Rosh issued his stern warning; in fact, his own son, the Tur, authored the sefer Kitzur Piskei HaRosh (a summary of the Rosh’s halachic rulings).  We have the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Derech HaChaim and, nowadays, so many others. These kitzurim (condensed texts) provide quick, on-the-go halachic information, but they do not take the place of an individual’s obligation to learn the background and reasoning of the halachic conclusions they offer. In addition, strictly learning bottom-line halachah without background or rationale may cause a person to err. Mistakes are more likely to occur when one is not in touch with the full picture, and flawed conclusions can be drawn from comparing different subjects on a purely superficial basis. This is why halachic authorities caution us not to pasken directly from kitzurim, but to study the bases and sources of the halachos in addition to the summaries.

What then is their purpose? They are available for determining halachah as a b’dieved (last-resort) solution, when the preferred method is not available. Similarly, there are times when halachic rationale is not necessary for deciding the psak—devarim peshutim (simple matters, i.e., straightforward halachos) which do not require hora’ah (learned instruction).

As the producers of the one-minute Halacha2go project, we do our best to include the key reasons for the halachos we present. Additionally, we urge our readers to make use of the marei mekomos (halachic sources) provided with the weekly publication to facilitate the study of the daily halachos in more depth.

*Publisher’s Note: Thousands of Jews learn the Rambam’s Mishnah Torah daily (three chapters a day), completing it in its entirety every year; a siyum (conclusion) on the 35^th study cycle was celebrated one week ago.