"Kullah Shopping"

What is the problem "kulah shopping"? It seems that in previous discussions on the blog, the practice of searching for lenient rabbinical opinions, and following them, is frowned upon. But if a respected and reliable rabbi says something (that happens to be lenient), what is the problem with adopting his shitah as your practice?

- Rikki Novetsky

Hi Rikki,
This is a very important question that I think alot of people have, so I'm so glad that you asked it! I will answer your question directly (first two paragraphs) and then add some other thoughts that I have on the topic that readers of the blog might find relevant and interesting. I also just want to add a thank you to my husband for sharing with me his knowledge and insights on this topic :)

The Gemara in Eruvin 6b that says "mekulei Beit Shamai umekulei Beit Hillel--rasha!—that a person who paskins like the leniencies of Beit Shamai AND the leniencies of Beit Hillel is evil. So the answer to "is it OK to shop around?" once you have a posek already seems pretty clear cut. (The gemara also continues to discuss a person who adopts the STRINGENCIES of both Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai and doesn’t have very positive things to say about that individual either!)

I would add that it's important for a person to feel comfortable telling his/her Rav that a certain psak will be very difficult for whatever reasons for him/her to keep. In some areas of halakha, it might not make a difference. In other areas of halakha, it might be that the Rav will decide that there is room to be mekil given this difficulty. But of course, even if you know that there are other opinions, you need to ask in this case and not just issue yourself the kulah!

Some other thoughts on the topic:
A. It seems that one should choose his/her posek based on the following factors:

1. Raw halakhic knowledge (is the person familiar with the bredth of halakha and well-versed in it?)
2. Halakhic analytic abilities (is the person able to weigh all the different factors that need to be considered to answer a more complex she'elah)
3. Yir'at shamayim (is the person intensely committed to abiding by halakha?)
4. Match in hashkafa (do you feel comfortable with this person's general hashaka?)
*This factor may only be relevant for certain types of questions that touch on values issues, but not necessary for Hilkhot Shabbat type questions.*
5. Someone who is accessible (not to be underestimated! It is difficult to have a Rav in Israel paskin time-sensitive halakhic issues such as Tefillah questions or Niddah questions given a 6 or 7 hour time gap!)

B. Another issue that comes up is whether a person can have multiple Rabbis that he or she consults.

1. Rav Lichtenstein is known to say that a person can have a different posek for different areas of halakha if he or she deems that there is a reason to have it set up this way. For example, if there is someone who is known to be an expert on Hilkhot Shabbat but doesn’t have as much expertise in Hilkhot Niddah, then it would be appropriate to have two different poskim for these 2 different areas.

2. I would also add that it is a good idea for one to have 1 or 2 "backup" people that he or she can call in situations where the person cannot reach his or her "preferred posek." For example: if you know that there are 2 or 3 Rebbeim that paskin like a certain greater Rabbi in a given area of halakha, or that these Rebbeim generally have the same approach toward psak in a given areas, it's fine to ask the other 2 if you cannot reach your "preferred posek." And obviously, if you get stuck, asking any yirei Shamayim is better than just paskining for yourself and not asking at all!

C. I do think that it is OK and even a good idea for one to ask his/her Rav (obviously in a respectful and in an "I want to understand" way) why he chooses to paskin one way as opposed to another. I think this is helpful for the following reasons:

1. It provides the questioner with the information that he or she might be able to use in the future if this or a very similar question comes up (I do think that you should ask your Rabbi: If the same question comes up again, do I need to ask again or can I rely on this psak in the future?)

2. It often helps you to continue to develop your respect for the halakhic system when you understand what's behind it more (this is what we try to do in Ma'ayanot!)

In short: shopping around just to make your life easier? Not OK. But shopping around for a posek who meets the 5 qualifications that we delineated? A necessity in enabling you to lead the most halakhic life that you can!