Question: I am an Ashkenazi Jew. I daven nusach Sefarad, but lately I find myself in a congregation that davens nusach Ashkenaz. May I join them in prayer and, if yes, in what manner?
Name Withheld by Request
Answer: HaRav Moshe Sternbuch (Responsa Teshuvot V’Hanhagot 1:68) discusses this matter and cites the Magen Avraham (Orach Chayim 68) who relates in the name of the Arizal (Sha’ar HaKavanot) that each person should follow the custom of his father, as there are 12 gates by which prayers ascend to heaven, and everyone’s prayers rise according to the nusach he received from previous generations.
Rav Sternbuch writes, “As regards to the nusach that the Arizal introduced, some maintain that this nusach encompasses all the nusachim, as the Chida (Avodat HaKodesh [Kesher Godel, siman 12]) as well as the Sanzer Rav (Divrei Chayim 2:8) state. Therefore it isn’t proper to abandon this nusach, especially to go to nusach Ashkenaz, for perhaps this will result in praying in a nusach that isn’t in accord with the very source of one’s soul.”
Rav Sternbuch also writes the following, though: “I have heard from the Chazon Ish that one need not be that scrupulous regarding nusach, as one fulfills one’s obligation when praying in any nusach. The Chazon Ish cites this opinion in the name of Sha’ar Ephraim.”
“Thus,” he writes, “one may change one’s nusach [as the need arises] according to the custom of the place…. The basis for the [Chazon Ish’s] view is the statement of Rabbi Shlomo di Modena (Maharshdam, Orach Chayim 38), according to whom the verse (Proverbs 1:8) ‘…ve’al titosh torat immecha – …and do not forsake the teaching of your mother’ does not apply in the case of nusach hatefillah.”
Rav Sternbuch notes, though, that perhaps we should apply “ve’al titosh torat immecha” to changing one’s nusach. He cites Pe’at HaShulchan (siman 3) and Beit Yisrael (sk 31), who opine that one may not alter the nusach of one’s forefathers, and they question the opinion of Maharshdam who says otherwise.
The Netziv (Meishiv Davar 17) and Sho’el U’Meishiv (3rd ed., Vol. 1, siman 247) are also very critical of people who change their nusach from Ashkenaz to Sefarad, deeming it to be a violation of “ve’al titosh torat immecha.”
The Pri Megadim (10:8) writes: “As regards nusach hatefillot, one should not to change from the nusach of the Ashkenazim to Sefarad, as the Magen Avraham states in the name of Sha’ar HaKavanot.”
Rav Sternbuch adds: “Surely one should not change from Sefarad to Ashkenaz, for a son should not abandon the customs of his father’s house and, accordingly, it’s proper to pray in that nusach. But if a young man comes to a yeshiva and abandons the customs of his father’s house, accepting instead the customs of the yeshiva and his teachers, he should also follow them for the nusach of prayer.
“Yet if he is still bound even slightly to his father’s customs, and does not follow entirely the customs of the Ashkenazim, he should not change his nusach, either. When he prays with the congregation, however, he should not pray aloud.”
Rav Sternbuch notes that when a person serves as chazzan in a place where there is a custom “to not have a custom” – which is the case in certain shtieblach – he may lead the service according to his own nusach. If, however, there is a set custom, he must lead the prayers in the prevailing nusach (see also Responsa Teshuvot V’Hanhagot Vol. I, infra, siman 107).
One of the great proponents of nusach Sefarad in the early generations of Chassidism was Rav Elimelech of Lishensk. His son and successor, Rav Eleazar of Lishensk, testified:
“I asked my father about the two nusachim [Ashkenaz and Sefarad] of prayer. He answered me: …[The Rema] examined all the changes of this nusach [Sefarad] and saw that it was a light that the people in general might not merit to use. He then solidified nusach Ashkenaz, which is a nusach appropriate for all. Yet, he did not restrict the use of nusach Sefarad, and the righteous tzaddikim [who understand its efficacy] may still pray in that nusach, as each is the holy word of the living G-d.”
The Gaon Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggrot Moshe 2:24) states in a very noteworthy responsum that before the advent of Chassidism, all the lands known as Ashkenaz (Poland, Hungary, Russia, etc.) prayed in nusach Ashkenaz. Thus, if an Ashkenazi Jew wishes to change from nusach Sefarad to nusach Ashkenaz, he is in effect reverting to the nusach of his forefathers.
In conclusion, although there are numerous views on this matter, it’s clear according to Rav Sternbuch that a person must never pray loudly in a nusach that’s different from the nusach of the congregation. In the merit of this discussion, may we very soon witness the ingathering of all our exiles, the tribes of Israel, to our holy land and Jerusalem.