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Generally, a Jew knows if their origins are Ashkenazic or Sephardic.

One may even know if they come specifically from Lithuanian, Hassidic, Moroccan, Tunisian or any other community but they might also not, or they might not be sure.

In any case, a lot of Baalei Teshuva aren't certain enough about their Jewish heritage to know for certain which traditions were kept and what Halacha was followed by their family.

In this type of circumstances, how is one to establish which Halacha to follow?

Can one just choose the more lenient opinion in this case?

I'm using Shema as an example but this can apply to a lot of other things.

My Jewish ancestors were in Western Ukraine between late 18th century and the Russian revolution and I don't know where they were before then. My understanding is that MGA is Polish and that GRA is Lithuanian so I am guessing I should be following MGA.

Update: my question was closed with references to two questions that discuss the broader issue of choosing Ashkenazi vs Sephardic customs. I noted this right at the beginning of my question and intended to ask specifically about differences within the Ashkenazi community itself.

rudolfovic
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    Classically, you would follow the customs and practices of whichever community you ended up joining. I realize that today the idea of a single community with its own norms is much less prevalent. – Joel K Nov 26 '23 at 06:40
  • This seems to be a duplicate of https://yodeya.com/q/6741 ; cf also https://yodeya.com/q/10584 – msh210 Nov 26 '23 at 06:58
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    In addition to Joel K's comment, the traditional advice is to follow one Rav, and ask him what opinions you should follow. It might depend on your personal circumstances and how advanced you are on your journey – mbloch Nov 26 '23 at 06:58
  • I go by nusach Sefard because that's what they did in Ukraine but I haven't joined a hardcore Hassidic community. I spend a lot of time with Chabad because in a lot of places that all that there is but their format actually entails keeping one's own customs (unless they really want to become a Chabad Hassid, which I don't particularly). I'm actually looking to establish a "Modern Hassidic" community (as opposed to the Modern Orthodox movement, which is in fact more like Modern Lithuanian). I think there are a lot of Jews out there looking to reconnect with their roots skipping the Rebbe part. – rudolfovic Nov 26 '23 at 06:58
  • @msh210 it's definitely not a duplicate because I'm asking about how to choose within the Ashkenazic tradition – rudolfovic Nov 26 '23 at 07:00
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    You have to get a rav to ask all these questions to. – N.T. Nov 26 '23 at 10:28
  • I admire your spirit, but I think you're making this zmanim issue more complicated than it needs to be. You should be praying with a minyan, especially for shacharit. What Time does that minyan start? Do they get to Kriyat shema by the MA time or do they take until the Gra time? – יהושע ק Nov 26 '23 at 12:14
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    @יהושעק Some minyanim (e.g. on shabbat or more chassidically inclined or located in more extreme latitudes or located in weird time zones) make neither of those times for keriat shema – Joel K Nov 26 '23 at 13:12
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    This isn't a "are you from Lithuania or Poland" question, this is a "what is the halacha" question, which doesn't fall out neatly on geography-of-ancestry lines. – Shalom Nov 26 '23 at 14:13
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    What's the difference between intra Ashkenazi issues and inter communal issues?? This is a duplicate. Find a rabbi you trust and respect and stick to him. Good advice for everyone. – Double AA Nov 26 '23 at 14:28
  • It’s a different question because it addresses the issue of how much exactly one must zoom into their heritage to determine Halacha on niche issues (as opposed to the classics like kitniyot or Selichos duration). I don’t see how the answer to “my father is Sephardic, my mother is Ashkenazi, what am I?” automatically extends to “I think my paternal gggg-father came from Vilna/Lubavich/Jerba, do I need to follow all of X or can I choose anything within the S/A framework?”. “What if the rest of my gggg-parents were all from Y?” “If my ancestors were Satmar, can I move to Israel?” etc – rudolfovic Nov 26 '23 at 18:52
  • Like I said, I happen to daven with Chabad in the morning most of the time out of convenience, most people there aren’t religious and half of the year you need to say your own Shema before, according to either of these opinions, pretty much all year on Shabbos. And my mincha minyan at work is a mix of Ashkenaz, Sefard and Edut haMizrach, depending on who takes the bima. The advice I’m seeing here really doesn’t apply to modern day baalei teshuva, which is what this question is all about. – rudolfovic Nov 26 '23 at 18:57
  • And “ask your Rav” is a non-answer, it could apply to half of the questions on this site. The whole point is to understand the kind of reasoning one (eg a Rav) would apply – rudolfovic Nov 26 '23 at 18:57
  • The answer there was do like your parents or pick a community and stick to it. That applies to this question as well. Why would it be different? – Double AA Nov 26 '23 at 20:45

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