Come To The Dark Side, Luke
While I’m still recovering from the flu and am stuck on the couch with all this extra time to examine my life lol, I thought it would be somewhat instructive for most of you if I listed some of the perks that I see in moving beyond #Ashkenazi/#Sephardic Judaisms and choosing the #Maimonidean path in halakha.
The goal is to live a life that is:
✅ Halakhic (rooted in Gemara and Geonim)
✅ Rational (no superstition or magical thinking)
✅ Practical (meant to be accommodating)
✅ Meaningful (a coherent framework for perfecting ourselves and our society)
…as guided by Rambam’s and his family’s writings and responsa.
Without becoming a partisan of the:
❌ Orthodox
❌ Conservative
❌ Reform
❌ Or any other denomination
…while maintaining respect and love for the members of those communities ❤️
That’s the basic idea.
What follows are some of the small (and big!) ways my life as a halakhically-observant Jew might differ from what you’re used to, particularly if you come from an Orthodox background.
If you have any questions about any of them, feel free to ask (although fair warning, I generally don’t debate people).
If you also chose the Maimonidean path and can think of some perks that I missed (hello, flu-brain!) – list em in the comments.
The Perks of Being a Maimonidean
Meta Perks
– Only the national court can obligate all Jewish people
– Minhag is never binding unless you’re in a public setting with a group of people that exclusively follow it
– If there is any doubt about how to apply a rabbinic law – we go lenient
– Rabbinic decrees are limited to only what they originally decreed, not everything analogous
– There is no such thing as daas Torah – consulting a rabbi is the same as consulting any legal advisor
Shabbath
– Electricity on Shabbath is permitted
– Nolad is not an operative category on Shabbath at all
– Muqtse is only an issue if the object has no use but melakha
– Open and closing modern devices is normal use – you can open an umbrella on Shabbath
Yom Tob
– Only one day of yom tob for everyone celebrating in Israel
– Cooking on yom tob is straightforward
Pesah
– No fast for bekhor on ‘ereb Pesah (phew)
– Pesah cleaning is normal – simply removing leavened food, cleaning crumbs, and removing stains
– Qitniyoth are fine! Gebrokts is fine!
– Selling hamets is not required if you get rid of it, but is easy to do if you can’t
– The Haggada can be made shorter or longer depending on preference
Kashruth
– Six hours between meat and cheese is either approximate (simple read) or replaceable with mouth cleaning (taking Rambam’s approach to the sources)
– No waiting between cheese and meat
– Bishul akum requires actual bishul and actual akum, and only applies to fancy food
– Fish and meat together is fine
– Bittul be-shishim doesn’t escalate
– No separate dishes if vessels are non-absorbent
Nidda
– No extra waiting time beyond the Talmudic clean days
– Ketamim, bediqoth, and harhaqoth are all the Talmudic baseline, no extra stringencies
– Immersion requirements are more flexible (any moving body of rain/water) and less demanding (just remove whatever you don’t want that prevents the water from reaching your skin)
Marriage, Divorce, and Membership
– You don’t need a rabbi to get married
– The aguna crisis is solved via annulment
– Giyyur is simple and can be done by three Jewish adults in an hour, for the right person
Tephilla and Berakhoth
– Prayers are much shorter and more embodied
– Women have the same obligation in tephilla as men (no exemption or diminution of obligation due to being time-bound)
– But women are exempt from qeriath shema
– No tebilath Ezra required (but a shower would count anyway)
– Torah reading is fulfilled even from a defective scroll
Mourning
– Mourning minhagim are simple and non-obligatory, responsive to the mourner’s needs
– But also music during the Omer!
– Meat during the Nine Days!
Monetary
– Tips count as tsedaqa
What else can you add to the list???
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Now don’t get it twisted: being a Maimonidean, following Rambam, doesn’t mean accepting everything he says uncritically.
It’s about learning from and relying on his and his family’s halakhic and philosophical works as real guides for developing a Torah life – and ultimately it’s about embracing a method and a path, not a set of claims.
Sometimes, after reviewing the sources Rambam based himself on, I come to the realization that I disagree with him.
That’s fine – Rambam himself said to go with whomever presents the more reasonable argument.
The point is not to profess loyalty to another man’s ideas but to serve Hashem with an ever-growing awareness of truth and Torah.
May we all merit such awareness.
May we all be inspired to do teshuba.
May Hashem keep us safe and guard us from all who would do us harm.
May there be peace like Above.