I don’t have a cavalier attitude towards halachah, I just think that too many people confuse halachah with minhag or kabbalah, or even superstition. I do not think that just because a “sefer halachah” , i.e. the Kitzur of Rav Ganzfried, mentions a practice, that this practice becomes halachah. There are multiple issues where the accepted halachah changes through the generations, the discussion on yoshon is a good example. Quotes from the Sefer Chassidim do not become halachah, especially if one’s name is Avrohom, Yotzchak, Yaakov’ Shmuel, or ironically, Yehudah, v’hameivin yavin. In any case, I am not afraid of backlash.
Legufo shel inyan, the fact that the Aruch Hashulchan brings the Ba’al Hatanya as a source begs the question. It shows that there isn’t any early halachic opinion of sufficient stature to forbid interlocking fingers. I know that the Aruch Hashulchan had an affinity for chassidus and especially Reb Shneur Zalman, but if that’s the best he could do, (Rishonim? Tur? Mechaber? Rama? Magen Avraham? Anybody home today?) then it’s not very convincing. After all, fingers have been around for a long time.
I regret that my use of the word “comfortable” was misinterpreted, and I hope it was not intentional. If my posts are reread, it is clear that I meant that I like to hold my fingers that way, just like some people like to put their hands in their pockets. It has nothing to do with my halachic comfort level. If someone out there wants to jump on me for my hashkofos, I can only hope that the moderators will allow me to express them. Then I’ll be more than happy to be jumped on, provided I get to defend myself.