To date I have had several debates on whether I follow the Mishneh Torah alone and what I do with “electricity” and “driving a car” on Shabbat and many others.
Let me go ahead and state perfectly clearly that I primarily rely on the Mishneh Torah for matters of Halachah but not solely.There isn’t a Jew alive that relies solely on one code of Jewish law but rather they consult several in order to properly perform the law itself. The reason is that I use it as my primary source is because it is the only 100% complete codification of Jewish law that we have that is minus the commentary of later Rabbis who give opinions and insert their later minhagim into the commentary as if it is part of halachah itself. The Shulchan Aruch, largely, avoids this as well and is a valid code to follow but, it is incomplete and primarily follows the Rambam’s understanding anyway.
If there is a deficiency in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, I do go to the Shulchan Aruch and several other codes for understanding and I ignore the Kabbalaistic leaning aspects of it. There is nothing in halacha that says I have to accept or follow kabbalah! If there is I would love for someone to show me the source text.
Electricity:
The question comes as to what I do with electricity on Shabbat?
This is touchy because in order to forbid the use of electricity it would take an act of the full Sanhedrin in order to forbid its usage on Shabbat because it does not have the properties of Fire and would not be considered kindling a flame or any otherMelacha. My attitude is that being unsure doesn’t mean we should just go all out and do whatever with electricity on Shabbat. The best explanation I have found and is very plausible is found at http://www.chayas.com/electr.htm which states as I have stated above and leave it to when a valid Sanhedrin is established to rule on the matter make the determination with the rule and authority of halacha.
Driving a Car on Shabbat:
Do I drive on Shabbat….NO! the internal combustion engine does kindle a flame and you would be liable. Enough said!
