A friend of mine was given an eitzah by a Tzadik yesod olam regarding a certain hanhaga. The eitza is maala b’kodesh. I want to take it on bli neder in private but not in public. When I do it in private I always say bli neder. Is there a problem in public – even though this is my original custom and I have not discared it – it is morid b’kodesh.
Answer:
There is no problem in acting this way, and it is known of several gedolim who used to practice certain hanhagos in private, but not in public. This is not a case of moridim be-kodesh: the entire hanhagah is being performed in private, and not in public.
As you mention, it is certainly worthy to ensure that the practice is taken on bli neder.
