The Sages and scholars of the past insisted on the supreme importance of the continuity of tradition. Among other support, they based their opinion on the verse in Proverbs 1:8, “Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, and do not foresake the Torah of your mother.” During the Middle Ages, they formulated a saying that became well known and widespread in halakhic literature: “Jewish tradition is Torah.”1Rishba (Rabbi Shlomo Aderet, 1235–1310), commenting on Ramban (Nahmanides), par. 260, Rabbi Yitzhak son of Rabbi Yehuda, Shibbolei ha-leket ha-shalom, par. 271:129b. See explanation in my book Minhagei Yisrael [Jewish customs], vol. 1 (Jerusalem, 5749/1989), 235–37. Scholars have determined that we must not change the melodies of the prayers or the Torah reading,2See, for example, in Sefer hassidim, ed. J. Wistinietski, par. 8:17, and Minhagei Yisrael, vol. 2 (Jerusalem, 5755/1995), chapter 9, 264–65. or even the accent and pronunciation of Hebrew in the prayers and Torah reading that we have received from our ancestors.3Shu”t har Zvi, Orah Haim, par. 4; Mishpatei Uziel, Orah Haim, par. 1; Shulhan Arukh ha-Rav, Orah Haim 128:45; Birkhei Yosef, Orah Haim 53:5; Nohag ke-tzon Yosef 68; Shu”t yabia omer, vol. 6, Orah Haim, 11:33–39. This principle also applies to varying methods of interpreting and deriving halakhah. Each individual should uphold the law of his community – whether it be Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Edot ha-Mizrach, or other.4See, for example, Rabbi Yehuda Zarhia Halevy Segal, “Birurim be-gidrei minhagei ha-edot ha-shonot” [Explorations of the boundaries of customs of various communities], Ha-Torah ve-ha-medinah 11–13 (5720–22/1960–62): 268–407.
At the same time, if a person moves from a place where the residents followed a certain custom to a place where the residents follow a different custom, and he intends to settle in the new place permanently, then “He is subject to the rigor of the custom, either of the place he came from or of that to which he went. Thus it is always proper not to act differently from the established customs of a place, on account of the disputes to which such conduct may lead” (Mishnah, Pesahim 4:1). In other words, there are circumstances in which a person strays from the tradition of his forebears to a certain extent, and takes upon himself another custom.
But what about an entire community that moved from one place to another, and which has its own ancient tradition based on biblical verses, which developed and was apparently fixed before the period of the Sages and their halakhic interpretations? Must they completely neglect the tradition of dozens of generations and thousands of years? Or may we adopt the Sages’ saying: “In the town of Rabbi Yose ha-Gelili, they ate chicken with milk” (Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 116a)? Is the rule applying to an entire community that was cut off from its origin similar to the rule for an individual who moves from one place to another?
Such weighty questions have been widely discussed in the halakhic literature, particularly during the periods of expulsion and migration of populations, such as the exile from Spain and in recent generations after the Holocaust, and, at the other end of the spectrum, after the public miracle of the ingathering of the exiles to our Holy Land.
These questions become even more complex when we refer to the sudden uprooting of an entire community with a unique culture, character, and skin color that is completely different from what was accepted previously in Israel. Despite the great variety in our state, and the obvious difficulties of adaptation to a way of life so vastly different from what the community knew in the past, how can we expect it to change its cultural and religious skin overnight, or even in a year or two, and become similar to its brethren? And to which brethren should it become similar – Ashkenazic Jews, Sephardic Jews, or Jews from Edot ha-Mizrach (Eastern communities)? How can the elders of the community, both fathers and mothers, accept with equanimity when their sons and daughters abandon the ways of their ancestors? What will be the fate of these torn and shattered families, and what will be the social, emotional, and spiritual results of such a scenario?
The multifaceted halakhic aspects of these questions are related to halakhic policy and the method of practical halakhic decision making. Is unity equivalent to uniformity, or does it mean mutual responsibility that tolerates the concept of nehara nehara u-fashtei (“Every river has its own course” – Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 18b; 57a)? What is more, are we able to and is it appropriate for us to act with such “liberal tolerance” regarding issues that are biblically prohibited,5Compare, for example, the various opinions on helev ha-kesalim (fat on the upper pelvis of an animal) given in Tur and Beit Yosef on Yoreh De’ah, par. 64. when some of these are agreed upon by all other Jewish communities?
Clearly, then, we must differentiate between biblical law, rabbinic law, and community tradition. Perhaps we should also distinguish between halakhic rulings for individuals and rulings for the public. Similarly, we might also consider the consequences of the attempt to impose far-reaching changes on the communal and familial fabric. Some of the necessary halakhic discussions are fundamental, while others address details, but these categories combine into one under the general rubric of halakhic policy.
For this reason, Rabbi Sharon Shalom – a member of the Ethiopian community who has rabbinic ordination and also serves as a rabbi in practice – has made a positive contribution in taking on the weighty task of offering his community a guide to halakhah, a kind of Kitzur Shulhan Arukh for the Ethiopian community. He has done this out of a deep understanding of the needs of the community, its distresses and cries for relief, and in light of sensitivities that we, members of other communities, are not necessarily aware of and do not feel. Toward this purpose, he has labored at this holy project, researching and interpreting halakhah, customs, and traditions according to the elders of his Beta Israel community and his own ancestors, and comparing them to the halakhot and customs practiced among the majority of Jewry. He proposes methods of contending with these issues and appropriate halakhic decisions for each detail.
Rabbi Shalom is deeply aware of the process experienced by the youth of the community as they are educated in Israeli institutions. They naturally accept the practices of these institutions and of their comrades, and are gradually being integrated into general Israeli society, particularly during service in the Israel Defense Forces. Awareness of this process has led Rabbi Shalom to distinguish between generations, between parents and children – in other words, between the present period and the more distant future, and he has differentiated between them in his suggestions for halakhic decisions.
In writing this book, Rabbi Shalom has performed a labor of sanctity. He presents it to his community clearly and discerningly, out of involvement and a sense of responsibility, along with understanding of the need for unification with the rest of the Jewish people. Undoubtedly, there will be those who will question his halakhic decisions, details as well as principles. The book may invite illuminating and significant comments that will pave the way for additional discussion. Perhaps this is but the beginning of the path, and not its end. New editions of the book will address additional issues, and even mandate changes in halakhic understanding and decision making. I believe that those who are truly committed to the preservation of tradition but are also aware of the necessity of social and religious integration of the various Jewish communities, those who are disturbed at communal differences in all their manifestations, will benefit by studying this book in depth and by recognizing its wisdom and utility.
On a personal level, I take pride in this work of Rabbi Shalom, my former student, and pride in the small part I played in this significant project. I pray that his efforts will lead to no error, and that his work will lead to a strengthening of love for Torah and observance of the mitzvot, and to love for fellow human beings, as kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh (“all Jews are responsible for each other”).6Babylonian Talmud, Shevuot 39a. If even a small portion of this is fulfilled, we will have earned our reward.