I did not grow up religious, but have been becoming more observant over the last several years. I spent some time at a yeshiva last year and I’m planning on going to another one for longer over the summer. My main question is how do I choose what Minhag or Halachic code to follow? I am intrinsically a conservative, so I tend to look at what the earliest sources are, but I haven’t found any communities that currently follow BH”G. Can I choose to follow any code that I want so long as I follow it consistently even if no one currently practices that way? If I disagree with a ruling of the code that I choose to follow, can I go by a different opinion (so long as that is an opinion held by a major Rishon or Gaon)? Most people generally accept Shulchan Aruch, but why should that (Majority of Rif, Rambam, and Rosh) be the normative method of deciding Halacha as opposed to deriving from the Talmud? How do certain communities justify going against Shulchan Aruch even though they claim to follow it (as in the case of Kapparot)? Why is there a difference in the Halachot of the Geonim and the Rishonim? Is it related to the fact that there were no Mizrahi Rishonim? Didn’t the Geonim write the Halacha the way they practiced it as direct descendants of the Talmud and therefore any disagreement LeMaaseh from western Rishonim would be a matter of local custom? If I choose to go by the custom of my ancestors, can I choose which side of the family? Or how far back in time? I know this is a lot of questions, but they’re all on one central topic. They say “Aseh Lecha Rav” but I live in a place without a Jewish community and the only rabbis are Chabad (I very much do not connect to Chabad in terms of philosophy, lifestyle, Meshichism, etc., so I don’t want to go by whatever my Chabad rabbi tells me. I also don’t have any Chassidic ancestry as far as I’m aware and I have ancestry from all over Europe). Thank you in advance for the answer.

ב"ה Shalom, You have many questions, so for the sake of clarity ,I would like to break it down to two major questions and if you feel I missed something you can always write me again with a follow up question. 1. As you are becoming more observant how should you conduct yourself as far as the many customs? 2. How to relate to the authority of the different periods in the development of the Halacha? 3. And possibly a third question, how is it that Sephardim go against the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch and do the custom of Kappparot. Each one of these question is worthy of a long discourse, however we can't possibly cover everything in the framework of a website. But our overall objective should be to try to find the way to become closer to Hashem. 1. I will begin with question 1, but although I will try to provide some guidelines, I must say in advance that ultimately you will have to choose a Rabbi who will feel close enough with to help you along the way and provide with more personal guidance. I agree with you that if you don't identify with Chabad, you should choose someone with whom you can identify. If your grandparents or before are from eastern Europe, you should follow the Ashkenazi customs, and when there is a clash between the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yoseph Karo and the Re"ma= Rav Moshe Isserles , you should follow the Re"ma who established the Ashkenazi custom. In regarding to which Nusach you should keep in Tefilla, there is more flexibility because these issues are not established in the Talmud but only at later times and you are not changing from a previous custom because you really didn't follow any earlier custom. In addition , the Mishna Brura 68:4 quoted the Ari z"l who has said that there are 12 gates in the heavens through which G-d accepts the prayers and surely you Tefilla will be accepted. There are also issues of custom in regard to Tefillin which is a daily Mitzva, besides Shabbat and Chag of course. How do you don the teffilin on you arm, inward or outward and which knot should you have for your Tefillin shel Rosh, the square knot or the "Dalet" shape knot, leaving aside for a moment the writing on the parchment inside the Tefillin. Although, ultimately you will have fulfilled the mitzva following one custom or the other, a person should be consistent with their customs. And there many other examples of customs throughout the Jewish calendar. Therefore, I reiterate the need to consult with a Rabbi who is available to you on a regular basis to until you are set in you ways. Also, as I've said, you should follow the Ashkenazi custom if your previous generations are from eastern Europe. For more fine tuning, if you find your away around the Mishna Berura for which a long time now is available for a long time already fully in English. 2. As for question number 2, perhaps, I should begin by suggesting a few books to read on the subject to get a clearer view of the development of Halacha. I can suggest for one , the book, Legacy of Sinai: A History of Torah Transmission, with World Backgrounds. From Creation Through Close of Geonic Era, 1-4800 (1992) by Rabbi Zecharya Fendel. There is also a book called "The Rishonim" by Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm . I'm sure there are others, so a short trip to a Sefarim store would be worthwhile. I myself wrote a term paper when I worked on my master's degree, on the different periods of Halachic authority , Mishna, Talmud, Geonim, Rishonim in Germany, France, and Spain and on the factors which created an accepted practice in which the later generations do not dispute the decisions of early generations. If you have more specific questions, I would try to answer. There is also, a generally accepted practice or should I say an undertaking, that the Jewish communities around the world do not dispute halachic works which have been broadly accepted in the Jewish community. Obviously, there is a lot more to be said on this subject but I apologize that this is quite difficult in the scope of this forum. 3. In regard to your third question, this has been answered already by the most prominent Rav Ovadya Yoseph. Zt"l. Rabbi Yoseph was adherent to the rulings of the Shulchan Aruch in an unwavering fashion. However, when he came to the custom of Kapparot , his decision was along the following lines: that since this custom has already become widespread—both among Ashkenazi communities and among Sephardic communities—and since this is also the view of the Geonim to maintain this practice, and Rabbeinu the Ari (the Arizal) was very careful to observe the custom of kapparot, and many other great halachic authorities likewise wrote in favor of maintaining the custom—therefore one should allow the Jewish people to follow their established practice. Hopefully, I have somewhat helped. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.