Shalom,
I have a question that has been in my head for a long time.
Do we need to have a Rabbi or to be consistent with a certain Halakhic code on everything or are we supposed to follow the Torah and look for the truth?
The reason for this questions is that people say that the follow certain Rabbi, or the S”A or any other code but it seems that in the real world the Halacha doesn’t work and shouldn’t work around dogmas, but looking for truth. All the Rabbis use different codes and opinions in order to find answers and it seems that the people do the same.
For example, in my community the Rabbi is from Chabad but it has Jews from many backgrounds. I understand that in the community itself, we need to respect the communal Halakhic standards and minhagim, but, do we have to do the same at home? Or at home we and with our family we can follow our minhagim, standards and traditions according to Halakha but most importantly with the truth? Do I have ti be consistent just with one Rabbi always?
The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.
Thank your answer! This means that we are not Halachically required to have a Rabbi nor be fully consistent with one Rabbi in every regard, but we are required to follow Torah, the Talmud and to find the truth right? And obviously to have a guide that we trust for this, it doesn’t have to be necessarily the Rabbi of your community or even in your city right? I guess for community activities of course we need to respect the standards and minhagim.
Just to clarify a related point: saying that one is not required to follow a single rabbi for every question does not mean that “anything goes,” nor does it endorse rabbi-shopping.
Rabbi-shopping—meaning calling whichever rabbi you think will give the answer you want—shows a lack of seriousness about the halachic process and is not a healthy way to practice Judaism.
At the same time, it has always been normal to rely on different rabbis in different areas of halacha. Someone may feel more comfortable with one rabbi for questions of Hilchot Niddah and another for Hilchot Shabbat, depending on expertise, approach, or clarity. That is not only legitimate; it has always existed.
In earlier generations, each town had one rabbi simply because people had no practical access to anyone else. Today, that reality has changed. What matters is not “having one rabbi,” but approaching halacha with honesty, consistency, and respect—rather than looking for convenient answers.