The thing is, even if it has, as you put it, no basis in the text, it has. That little thing in Avot, S'yag laTorah? A fence around the Torah? Yeah, somewhere in Dvarim there's a verse that says listen to the experts of your day, they will make additional rules (authoritative) as needed. And, of course, don't talk to much to women, not even your own wife.

The problem I see is that if Rav Moish Gesundheit made a great, wize, necessary gezeirah in 1302, it might well have been outdated by 1550 or so, but it's still in force. We have not AN appropriate fence, but in many cases multiple fences around Torah precepts. The code needs a thorough cleaning out.

There is a balance to be made; we must start from the POV that torah shebektav and torah she baal pe are fully binding. That is the basis of any religion that does not put our own wants or feelings beyond what the Source wants. Avraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son Yitzchak for the Source; lehavdil yoshki 'god' died for their sins and now they are free. We give up ourselves and our thoughts for G-d, in their system 'god' gives up itself for them. Ashreinu.

We are bound by these laws and customs until mashiach comes unless constructive innovation within Torah can be made (see eg Rav Moshe Feinstein), otherwise we are looking at reform judaism whatever that means; G-d to fit what we want.

There is a balance to be made; we must start from the POV that torah shebektav and torah she baal pe are fully binding. That is the basis of any religion that does not put our own wants or feelings beyond what the Source wants. Avraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son Yitzchak for the Source; lehavdil yoshki 'god' died for their sins and now they are free. We give up ourselves and our thoughts for G-d, in their system 'god' gives up itself for them. Ashreinu.

We are bound by these laws and customs until mashiach comes unless constructive innovation within Torah can be made (see eg Rav Moshe Feinstein), otherwise we are looking at reform judaism whatever that means; G-d to fit what we want.

Having said that, I suggest you recollect your thoughts and consider how you present them. Your questions are not "out of line," as you put it, but your conclusions are. On several occasions in your article, you admit to your ignorance on the halakhic process and yet you have the chutzpah to suggest that rabbinic law is flawed or out of date. You sensed your own arrogance and tried to excuse it (both in the article and in your response above), but you are not excused.

I think you are misguided and culpable in labeling the Chareidi dominated Rabbinate as an "extreme religious sect… that adheres to the most extreme interpretation of Jewish law." They are not some small extremist minority that usurped power. In fact, they are the religious majority and they follow the mainstream gedolim on halakhic issues. What's more, I think you're confused about the Bayit Yehudi party and their religious goals in contrast to the Chareidi parties.

In any case, if you truly desire answers to your questions, rather than discrediting the entire system of oral law, I implore you to seek out the halakhic discussion and reach informed conclusions. Regarding hair covering, take a look at this article http://www.traditiononline.org/news/_pdfs/0073-0108.pdf. Today's internet leaves the laymen no excuse. If you genuinely care, you can be enlightened.

Regarding "aseh lekha rav," again, I think you have misinterpreted the message. Rather than fishing for a rabbi that will tell you what you want to hear, be a truth-seeker and you will find a rabbi whose wisdom and humility you respect, and you will trust his answers.

Wishing you much hatzlacha in striving for truth.

Secondly, I would like to commend you on your honest efforts to try to better understand your Judaism while still remaining within the orthodox context (meaning not rejecting it and siding with reform, conservative, etc). I think your frustrations are echoed by many in the Frum world who truly want to serve G-d in the correct way, and yet feel a sense of confusion as to what exactly that means. It would seem that aside from a lot of fences being made over the centuries, which you have so aptly pointed out, a lot has seemingly been lost, or perhaps de-emphasized, in which the focus was of a much more spiritual nature, meditation for example.

regardless, I would like to make a few comments that may, at least in some regard, shed some light on the nature of the development of Judaism, and perhaps why today's Judaism, while producing frustration, is still authentic Judaism.

1) aside from the spiritual components to the mitzvos, the cosmic doors of revelation that they unlock, there is a very basic purpose in adhering to them: they break down the ego through the adherent choosing them over himself. for intents and purposes, G-d could have commanded us to eat poutine while standing on one leg, rubbing our stomaches, and barking like dogs. it is irrelevant from this vantage point what the particulars of any given mitzva are. we do it because G-d says so, and that is possibly the biggest yetzer hara red flag, which is exactly why we just do it anyway. it produces humility and destroys ego.

2) essentially the question you are really asking is: how can we trust the oral Torah as has been passed down and practiced till the present day? the answer is actually quite simple, although this question plagues many people who are often at terrible odds with how to reconcile it. it is this: whatever has been accepted by the mainstream Torah observant communities, wherever they may have been, as instituted by the leading halachic authorities of the times, and has stood the test of time (meaning it was adopted and lasted) MUST by necessity be authentic. the reason is this: there are only 2 possibilities, 1) either G-d is just messing around with the entirety of humanity and the creation and the whole thing is one sick joke, or 2) what we have HAS to be authentic because otherwise it would be impossible for anyone to for sure know how G-d wants us to climb the spiritual ladder. Since I don't believe the first option (because it is ridiculous and lacks any logic whatsoever) I have no choice but to accept to second one.

HOWEVER! I'm NOT saying that perhaps things couldn't change. Perhaps you will find halachic authorities today who may not be the mainstream halachic leaders of our generation that may poskin differently than the Rov of the poskim, and while such decisions may not be adopted by the mainstream Torah observant community today, perhaps such decisions (however unlikely) will actually end up standing the test of time and ultimately become adopted by the clal. the problem with this is that if it's not accepted by the Rob of the poskim, it will most likely not be accepted by the Rov of the mainstream Torah observant community, and will certainly not stand the test of time.

SO, you are left with a conundrum: since G-d is most likely not playing a sick joke on us, and since the only other option is that our mesora AS IT STAND TODAY with all it's frustrations and seeming inconsistencies, etc. has to be true, BUT nonetheless we are still left with bitterness on our tongue, what can we do?

1) the first point I made above is still relevant. we can suck it up, swallow our pride, put our heads down and bull forward with complete abandon of our 'better sense'.
2) we can search for a better understanding of the halachos, the minhagim, and the plethora of fences that have been placed around everything. I believe it is here that you will find the most satisfying results. on the surface many halachos are impractical and outdated. but if you dig you will most certainly find that EVERYTHING is founded in kabbalah. the reality is that Torah without it's deepest levels, is an empty vessel. We can't possibly begin to understand the depths of our practice without understanding how such things connect to the holistic big picture.

i am a baal teshuva of 8.5 years. I was first a liberal, and then a buddhist. I am still a liberal, and in many ways I am still a buddhist. but sof sof, I am 100% YID, because what I have discovered is that everything Judaism has (and I am referring to all those chumras and the whole kit and caboodle) are completely consistent with my liberally buddhist perspective. in fact I would have to argue that true liberalism and true buddhism are merely offshoots of what Judaism has always, and will always be.

3) it could be that your main issue is not with Judaism at all. That the chumras and fences and minhagim aren't really what's bothering you. That placed in the right context with the right and deepest understanding you'd be fine and dandy with the WHOLE package. perhaps the issue is not with the Judaism, but with the Jews who are practicing it. perhaps they don't have the WHOLE package themselves, perhaps their understanding, OR perhaps their APPLICATION of the depths that Judaism is, is misleading the observer into believing that it is the Yiddishkeit that is faulty, when in fact it is the Yid which has falsified his Yiddishkeit.

that is all.
respectfully,
-YS