Presence

b

Answer is not always so black or white (a or b). The grey depends on circumstances and what the issue is. Can a knowlegeable Orthodox Jew make his own analysis and some decisions or must EVERY decision be brought to someone else. Learn from others always yes but ultimately some decisions must rest on individuals and families.

If your question was not so absolute and had examples, I might agree with Moshe case by case, example by example.

This is a classic Ner Yisrael/YU machlokes. YUniks will be more inclined to follow the texts, while Ner Yisrael are more into what the previous generations did.

Moishe: like, for example, gebrukts?

Chaim: obviously this isn't a cut and dry thing. I think about this the most when it comes to little nuances in davening, like waiting for the chazzan to finish Borchu before sitting down, or whether to say kitusay or chirusay in kaddish. Part of the question in that context has to do with holding yourself above the rest of the community.

AlanLaz: Where do you get that from? Even if such a distinction could be made, I would think it would be the other way around. It's also obvious you didn't read the link I left on your blog last week.

In most situations I'd choose b.

Greg,
I have not had the 2 free hours to read the link you sent me. Classic case in point: on Shavuos, Shomrei Hashkama minyan, a chazzan was leading Hallel and this chazzan turned around, facing the back of the shul to do the "shakes" behind him, while many people just stand in place, but shake over their shoulder. During laining, a YU-ordained Rabbi came up and showed this Ner Yisrael-type chazzan where it says in the Mishna Berura that one need not turn around. The Ner-Yisrael-type's response: That's what my father did, so that's what I do.

Rabbi Bald, a YU-ordained Rabbi, openly tells his gemara shiur that his approach is to read the rishonim, achronim, and make an informed decision based strictly on that - not what has been done previously. He recommends this approach to his talmidim. Tell me a Rabbi that does that at Ner, and I'll be surprised.

Sorry, that should be Succos (shaking a Lulav), not Shavuos.

A, for sure. I've seriously thought about giving up turkey because I've never found any real reason we should be allowed to eat it, for instance.

Ner Israel's most popular semicha is a test on the Mishne Berura. YU has 20-odd roshei yeshiva that do whatever they want, and the talmidim do the same.

I don't think you can draw any conclusions based on one conversation between a YU Rabbi and a Ner Israel Chazzan.

I agree with Alan, that most Ner Israel-type guys would go with B. Which is what I would do. But then again, I'm really an ignoramus when it comes to understanding basic things, so I would just think that I learned it wrong.

I was not making any conclusions based on that convo - just a case in point.

The stereotype is that Ner guys would go with B - to follow their father, or what those in previous generations did. YUniks follow what the Rav or Rav Schachter do - when they are not machriya, however, the general tendency is go to to the texts. If there was a choice between doing what one's parents do vs. (for instance) what the MB says, the stereotyped YU guy would go with A.

For instance: who would you be more likely to see with their hands folded over their heart during Shemonah Esrai? Clearly YU guys - because that's what the Shulchan Aruch and MB hold. Ask a Ner Yisrael guy why he doesn't do this (after all, it says it right in the SA and MB!) and they will reply either: "minhag today is not like that", or "my father doesn't do it".

Also, I'm not sure where you hear that the MB smicha at Ner is the most popular - most guys that I meet are doing Yoreh Deah/Basar V'Chalav. And even if it was the most popular, that doesn't mean that they would not defer to the parents or olam for how one acts in a discrepency.

Plenty of people in the Yeshiva world adopt the minhagim, psak, and chumrot of their Yeshiva over that of their parents. I really don't see this as a YU vs. [blank] Yeshiva issue.

People often separate YU from the "yeshiva world". When the Rav or Rav Schechter side on a matter, YUers are prone to follow what they hold - just like the rest of the "yeshiva world" does with regards to its Rabbeim. It's when the Rav/Rav Schechter don't side that YUers will be more prone to be text based. Again, this is just my understanding of the stereotypes. Greg, I apologize for taking up so much blog space - the madness will end.

I think it depends on whether it would be 'b'farhesia' or not. There are a couple of halachos that I follow my own conclusion based on my reading of shas-poskim etc. But they are not 'public' halachos. i.e. The average bystander is unaware of how I pasken.

But on one particular issue that has not yet occured in my life and that I know would be very public if it were to occur, I dread the possibility of the circumstances occurring that would force me to choose either a or b, i.e. Do I do something that I believe is the correct psak, but radically different from what everyone else would be doing? Or follow the lead which would result in my making several brochos etc. that I would consider to be brochos l'vatala etc.?

I don't know about YU, but I know that many Ner poskim, including one that Alan knows of, do adopt the "The minhag is otherwise" approach even when they admit that the textual halachic development should lead elsewhere.

Interesting question. R' Haym Soleveitchik wrote an article on mimetic Judaism, very interesting. See http://www.opensourcejudaism.com/transformationoforthodoxy.htm
It's long - but worth reading.

Jewchick - that's the article I wanted AlanLaz to read!