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M"B 25:42 makes it clear that we always follow Gemara over Zohar. And we similarly follow Bavli over Yerushalmi (as is clear from the Hirhurim article quoted in this related discussion).

However, do we follow Zohar or Yerushalmi?

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b a
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  • related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/3826/759 – Double AA Jun 20 '12 at 06:15
  • Could you give an example of something that differs between Zohar and Yerushalmi but does not appear in Bavli? – yoel Jun 20 '12 at 07:24
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    @Yoel wearing tefilin during chol hamoed – avi Jun 20 '12 at 07:42
  • @avi thanks, do you know where in Yerushalmi? – yoel Jun 20 '12 at 07:59
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    @yoel Yerushalmi Moed Katan 3:4 Rosh Hilchot Tefillin 16 – sam Jun 20 '12 at 15:12
  • @sam thanks. as for op's question, why don't we just follow Shulchan Aruch? – yoel Jun 20 '12 at 15:59
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    @yoel The question is mostly about how the Shulchan Aruch and other poskim decide the halachah. But it's possible that there will be an area not covered by the Shulchan Aruch (e.g. Zeraim) in which there is a dispute as well. – b a Jun 20 '12 at 16:26
  • The Shulchan Aruch qoutes the Zohar in the inyun of teffilin.However, the Rama brings a diffrent minhag ,and the Gra holds not to and that is the Minhag of Yerushalyim. This was a huge machlokes between the Rishonim some say to wear some say it is assur to and some say to wear without a bracha. – sam Jun 20 '12 at 16:32
  • In that case, this is also related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/325/5 – Seth J Jun 20 '12 at 19:04
  • @yoel Notice that it's tagged [tag:halacha-theory] not [tag:halacha]. – Double AA Jun 20 '12 at 19:25
  • @sam Which Rishonim? – Yehoshua Apr 24 '16 at 15:05
  • It is a very good question, but I didn't like you phrased it with "we" and "use". Who's we - Sho"A, M"B, Ariza"L? What's "use" - all the time, most of the time, sometime? So the true answer is: different Poskim use different strategies at different times. – Al Berko Jul 12 '18 at 16:34
  • @AlBerko I admit I didn't phrase it as well as I could have, but there are many books in the genre of כללי הפוסקים and I was looking for something like that, which is what the Mishna Berura is bringing – b a Jul 12 '18 at 18:39
  • Judging by your score you should know that just like the Machaber decided arbitrary what Poskim he uses, same with all the others. There are no objective unified rules you're looking for. Everyone is free to decide on his own way. Some will say they count on Zohar, some don't, some do the Zohar but tell others they don't :). But you can ask about a specific Posek, e.g. MB, but not "we". – Al Berko Jul 12 '18 at 20:00
  • And how do you accept the sefardish Poskim for MB? – Al Berko Jul 12 '18 at 20:01
  • @AlBerko Yes, I know that different poskim decide in different ways. Despite that, there are books which try to come up with rules for those decisions: Yad Malachi, Keneset Hagedola, Sedei Chemed are three. That was the sort of source I was looking for. If there is a problem with asking what "we" do (and I admit it isn't the best language), the MB also suffers from that problem, because he also says what "we" should do as if it were a unified rule – b a Jul 12 '18 at 20:26
  • @AlBerko And asking what "we" do can still be answered from many different perspectives (Alex's answer for instance). The question is still כיצד מברכין even though the rabbis don't agree on which blessings to say – b a Jul 12 '18 at 20:28

2 Answers2

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According to Harav Yishak Yosef Shelit"a (En Yishak vol. 1 pg. 334) we follow the Yerushalmi over the Zohar.

Sources to support: Petah Hadvir 46c, Sede Hemed Kelale HaPoskim 2:5, Yabia Omer vol. 4 pg 39a).

Hacham Gabriel
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    So does he rule to wear Tefillin on Chol haMoed in accordance with the Yerushalmi and against the Zohar? – Double AA Oct 15 '13 at 05:16
  • You have a good question sorry for oversimplfying. Ill bn look it up. – Hacham Gabriel Oct 20 '13 at 03:38
  • @DoubleAA it could take precedence in theory while practically speaking there is still (for those that go like this) a Shulchan Aruch to follow even if it ignores this klal (or in fact ignores his -- the shulchan aruch's -- own klalim!) – Yehoshua Apr 24 '16 at 15:06
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In the discussion of the correct procedure for cutting the bread at the Shabbat meal, R. Joel Sirkes writes (Bayit Chadash O.C. siman 274) the following:

דאין עוברין על דין התלמוד מפני שהוא כך על פי הקבלה וכי היכי דאנו מניחין תפילין בחולו של מועד ע"פ תלמוד ירושלמי כמ"ש לעיל בסימן ל"א ולדברי הזוהר הוא חייב מיתה

We do not violate a Talmudic law when Kabbalah specifies a certain way, just like we put on tefillin on Chol Hamoed in accordance with the Talmud Yerushalmi, as I wrote earlier in siman 31, even though according to the Zohar this carries the death penalty.

This appears to be a clear statement that the Yerushalmi supersedes the Zohar.

However, R. Joseph Karo writes (Beit Yosef O.C. siman 31 ) that originally the Benei Sefard would put on tefillin on Chol Hamoed, but once they discovered what the Zohar said they stopped:

ועכשיו נהגו כל בני ספרד שלא להניחם בחול המועד כדברי הרא"ש ואחר כך מצאו שכתב רבי שמעון בן יוחאי במאמר אחד שאסור להניחם בחול המועד ועל פיו נמנעו מלהניחם בחול המועד וכן כתב מורי דודי הה"ר יצחק קארו ז"ל בתשובה

He concludes by saying that since this question is not explicitly clarified in the Talmud Bavli, no one has the guts to actively defy the strong words of R. Shimon Bar Yochai:

ומאחר שבתלמודא דידן לא נתבאר דין זה בפירוש מי יערב לבו לגשת לעבור בקום ועשה על דברי רבי שמעון בן יוחאי המפליג כל כך באיסור הנחתם

This would seem to indicate that the Zohar supersedes the Yerushalmi, in which case we would be left with a dispute about which supersedes the other. However, R. Karo is not necessarily assigning greater authority to the Zohar than to the Yerushalmi. First-of-all, it is possible that he holds that the proof from the Yerushalmi is not a clear-cut proof (i.e. perhaps the Yerushalmi is not actually conflicting with the Zohar), and second-of-all, it is possible that his reasoning is not based on measuring authority but instead based on what he wrote in the last line.

Alex
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  • Could you please add the daf in Yerushalmi, which discusses this case? – Kazi bácsi Mar 08 '18 at 18:18
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    @Kazibácsi It's MK 3:4. Arguably of course one could assert those opinions held Shabbat is Zman Tefillin, but I don't know that that is all that convincing. – Double AA Mar 08 '18 at 18:25
  • That's a great point in the last paragraph. I asked the question (6 years ago) looking for a general rule, but it seems obvious now that it differs case by case. Like the fast of the firstborn, which (I think) none of the rishonim writes against, even though the Yerushalmi in Pesachim 10 clearly proves they didn't observe that fast universally. Now I wonder more what the "general rules" mean at all. – b a Mar 08 '18 at 18:46
  • @ba I'd switch the accepted answer (also to incentivise Double AA) – Kazi bácsi Mar 08 '18 at 22:42
  • @DoubleAA the Bach indeed quotes those who make that argument. – Alex Mar 09 '18 at 00:39
  • @alex it originates in the semag/k if I'm not mistaken. The Gra argues it forcefully, to defend the zohar of course – Double AA Mar 09 '18 at 01:41