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82-650: Horowitz was a student of Moses Isserles and served as rabbi in several communities. Horowitz authored: Yesh Noḥalin (Hebrew: יש נוחלין ; Amsterdam , 1701) 'Emek Beracha (Hebrew: עמק ברכה ; Amsterdam, 1729), and Brit Abraham (Hebrew: ברית אברהם ; Lemberg , 1875). His works are frequently cited by his son, Isaiah Horowitz . This biographical article about a rabbi is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Moses Isserles Moses Isserles ( Hebrew : משה בן ישראל איסרלישׂ ; Polish : Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles ; 22 February 1530 / 25 Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18 Iyar 5332), also known by

164-611: A December 2006 opinion lifting all rabbinic prohibitions on homosexual conduct (the opinion held that only male-male anal sex was forbidden by the Bible and that this remained prohibited). Conservative Judaism also made a number of changes to the role of women in Judaism including counting women in a minyan , permitting women to chant from the Torah, and ordaining women as rabbis . The Conservative approach to halakhic interpretation can be seen in

246-487: A community recognizes a certain judicial system to resolve its disputes and interpret its laws." Given this covenantal relationship, rabbis are charged with connecting their contemporary community with the traditions and precedents of the past. When presented with contemporary issues, rabbis go through a halakhic process to find an answer. The classical approach has permitted new rulings regarding modern technology. For example, some of these rulings guide Jewish observers about

328-469: A complete enumeration of the rules of interpretation current in his day, but that they omitted from their collections many rules which were then followed." Akiva devoted his attention particularly to the grammatical and exegetical rules, while Ishmael developed the logical. The rules laid down by one school were frequently rejected by another because the principles that guided them in their respective formulations were essentially different. According to Akiva,

410-580: A great service to Ashkenazic Jewry, for he reestablished its Talmudic authorities as the deciding factor in determining a law." An abridgement of the original work is published with the Tur ; the complete version of the Darkhei Moshe is published separately. HaMapah (המפה) is written as a gloss to the Shulchan Aruch of Yosef Karo , discussing cases where Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs differ. Hamapah

492-573: A prohibition in order to maintain the Jewish system as a whole. This was part of the basis for Esther 's relationship with Ahasuerus (Xeres). For general usage of takkanaot in Jewish history see the article Takkanah . For examples of this being used in Conservative Judaism, see Conservative halakha . The antiquity of the rules can be determined only by the dates of the authorities who quote them; in general, they cannot safely be declared older than

574-408: A rabbinic posek ("he who makes a statement", "decisor") proposes an additional interpretation of a law, that interpretation may be considered binding for the posek's questioner or immediate community. Depending on the stature of the posek and the quality of the decision, an interpretation may also be gradually accepted by other rabbis and members of other Jewish communities. Under this system there

656-426: A self-evident trust that their pattern of life and belief now conformed to the sacred patterns and beliefs presented by scripture and tradition". According to an analysis by Jewish scholar Jeffrey Rubenstein of Michael Berger's book Rabbinic Authority , the authority that rabbis hold "derives not from the institutional or personal authority of the sages but from a communal decision to recognize that authority, much as

738-494: A series of glosses, in which he supplemented Karo with material drawn from the laws and customs ( Minhagim ) of Ashkenazi Jewry, chiefly based on the works of Yaakov Moelin , Israel Isserlein and Israel Bruna . All editions of the Shulchan Aruch since 1578 include HaMapah embedded in the text (introduced by the word: הגה Hagahah , meaning "gloss"), and distinguished by a semi-cursive " Rashi script ". Isserles' HaMapah

820-522: A students' reference book. Instead of the Arba‘ah Turim, the main text for the study of posekim in the Ashkenazi yeshivah up to Rema's day, he chose to use the new book, which was free of accumulated layers of glosses and emendations, up-to-date and lucid, and arranged along the same lines as the old Turim so that it could easily be introduced into the yeshivah curriculum. This was the crucial step in altering

902-578: A water tap (which is permissible by halakha ) than lighting a fire (which is not permissible), and therefore permitted on Shabbat. The reformative Judaism in some cases explicitly interprets halakha to take into account its view of contemporary society. For instance, most Conservative rabbis extend the application of certain Jewish obligations and permissible activities to women (see below ). Within certain Jewish communities, formal organized bodies do exist. Within Modern Orthodox Judaism , there

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984-405: Is a tension between the relevance of earlier and later authorities in constraining Halakhic interpretation and innovation. On the one hand, there is a principle in halakha not to overrule a specific law from an earlier era, after it is accepted by the community as a law or vow , unless supported by another, relevant earlier precedent; see list below. On the other hand, another principle recognizes

1066-455: Is actually counter-productive. They propose that Judaism has entered a phase of ethical monotheism, and that the laws of Judaism are only remnants of an earlier stage of religious evolution, and need not be followed. This is considered wrong, and even heretical , by Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. Humanistic Jews value the Torah as a historical, political, and sociological text written by their ancestors. They do not believe "that every word of

1148-534: Is an evolving concept and that the traditional halakhic system is incapable of producing a code of conduct that is meaningful for, and acceptable to, the vast majority of contemporary Jews. Reconstructionist founder Mordecai Kaplan believed that "Jewish life [is] meaningless without Jewish law.", and one of the planks of the Society for the Jewish Renascence, of which Kaplan was one of the founders, stated: "We accept

1230-658: Is between the Written Law, laws written in the Hebrew Bible , and the Oral Law, laws which are believed to have been transmitted orally prior to their later compilation in texts such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and rabbinic codes. Commandments are divided into positive and negative commands, which are treated differently in terms of divine and human punishment. Positive commandments require an action to be performed and are considered to bring

1312-562: Is considered to be a true teaching, even if it is not the true teaching in according to the heavens. For instance, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik believes that the job of a halakhic decisor is to apply halakha − which exists in an ideal realm−to people's lived experiences. Moshe Shmuel Glasner , the chief rabbi of Cluj ( Klausenberg in German or קלויזנבורג in Yiddish) stated that the Oral Torah

1394-745: Is derived from the Hebrew root halakh – "to walk" or "to go". Taken literally, therefore, halakha translates as "the way to walk", rather than "law". The word halakha refers to the corpus of rabbinic legal texts, or to the overall system of religious law. The term may also be related to Akkadian ilku , a property tax, rendered in Aramaic as halakh , designating one or several obligations. It may be descended from hypothetical reconstructed Proto-Semitic root *halak- meaning "to go", which also has descendants in Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic. Halakha

1476-617: Is disregarded if he was in the minority. After the Rishonim, R. Isserles proceeds to examine writings of אחרונים, i.e. Mordechai , Ashri and Tur , and the latter is followed especially when the Tosafists agree with him. At this point, the Responsa of still later authorities are cited extensively in accordance with the well-established principle of הלכה כבתרא, paying due attention even to the opinions of contemporaries and to customs of Polish Jewry which

1558-603: Is inscribed: "From Moses ( Maimonides ) to Moses (Isserles) there was none like Moses ". Until the Second World War , thousands of pilgrims visited his grave annually on Lag Ba'omer , his Yahrzeit (date of death). Not only was Isserles a renowned Talmudic and legal scholar , but he was also learned in Kabbalah and studied history , astronomy , and philosophy . Many had criticized Maimonides' heavy use of philosophy, and these criticisms continued into Isserles' day. He, on

1640-658: Is no one committee or leader, but Modern US-based Orthodox rabbis generally agree with the views set by consensus by the leaders of the Rabbinical Council of America . Within Conservative Judaism , the Rabbinical Assembly has an official Committee on Jewish Law and Standards . Note that takkanot (plural of takkanah ) in general do not affect or restrict observance of Torah mitzvot . (Sometimes takkanah refers to either gezeirot or takkanot .) However,

1722-439: Is normative and binding, and is developed as a partnership between people and God based on Sinaitic Torah. While there are a wide variety of Conservative views, a common belief is that halakha is, and has always been, an evolving process subject to interpretation by rabbis in every time period. See Conservative Judaism, Beliefs . Reconstructionist Judaism holds that halakha is normative and binding, while also believing that it

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1804-471: Is often contrasted with aggadah ("the telling"), the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical , narrative, philosophical, mystical, and other "non-legal" texts. At the same time, since writers of halakha may draw upon the aggadic and even mystical literature, a dynamic interchange occurs between the genres. Halakha also does not include the parts of the Torah not related to commandments. Halakha constitutes

1886-548: Is so loose that not attending synagogue may lead them to drop it altogether, their rabbi may give them a dispensation to drive there and back; and more recently in its decision prohibiting the taking of evidence on mamzer status on the grounds that implementing such a status is immoral. The CJLS has also held that the Talmudic concept of Kavod HaBriyot permits lifting rabbinic decrees (as distinct from carving narrow exceptions) on grounds of human dignity, and used this principle in

1968-422: Is still seen as binding. Conservative Jews use modern methods of historical study to learn how Jewish law has changed over time, and are, in some cases, willing to change Jewish law in the present. A key practical difference between Conservative and Orthodox approaches is that Conservative Judaism holds that its rabbinical body's powers are not limited to reconsidering later precedents based on earlier sources, but

2050-607: Is the "tablecloth" for the Shulkhan Aruch , the "set table". Karo had based his normative positions on three authorities: Maimonides , Asher ben Jehiel (the Rosh), and Isaac Alfasi (the Rif). Of these, only Asher ben Jehiel had non- Sephardic roots, having lived most of his life in Germany before moving to Spain , but even so, his work is largely Sephardic in orientation. Isserles thus created

2132-441: Is to search for the cause and the meaning of things." He also held that "it is permissible to now and then study secular wisdom, provided that this excludes works of heresy... and that one [first] knows what is permissible and forbidden, and the rules and the mitzvot ". Maharshal reproached him for having based some of his decisions on Aristotle . His reply was that he studied Greek philosophy only from Maimonides' Guide for

2214-578: Is unknown to us.... A son, R. Yehuda.... A third daughter... who is totally unknown to us." He is buried in the eponymous Remuh Cemetery in Kraków. A reputed descendant of King David through Rashi , he has many notable descendants, among which are included members of the Meisel family , alongside Rabbi Yakov Kuli Slonim, son-in-law of the Mittler Rebbe, the composers Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer ,

2296-553: The Shulchan Aruch (lit. "the set table"), upon which his "great reputation as a halakist and codifier rests chiefly." Darkhei Moshe (דרכי משה) is a commentary on the Tur as well as on the Beth Yosef , which is Yosef Karo's commentary on the Tur and the work underlying the Shulkhan Aruch . Isserles had originally intended the Darkhei Moshe to serve as a basis for subsequent halakhic decisions. As such, in this work he evaluates

2378-462: The shofar on Shabbat, or taking the lulav and etrog on Shabbat. These examples of takkanot which may be executed out of caution lest some might otherwise carry the mentioned items between home and the synagogue, thus inadvertently violating a Sabbath melakha . Another rare and limited form of takkanah involved overriding Torah prohibitions. In some cases, the Sages allowed the temporary violation of

2460-521: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) is empowered to override Biblical and Taanitic prohibitions by takkanah (decree) when perceived to be inconsistent with modern requirements or views of ethics. The CJLS has used this power on a number of occasions, most famously in the "driving teshuva", which says that if someone is unable to walk to any synagogue on the Sabbath, and their commitment to observance

2542-554: The Jewish diaspora , Jews lacked a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for halakha . According to some scholars, the words halakha and sharia both mean literally "the path to follow". The fiqh literature parallels rabbinical law developed in the Talmud , with fatwas being analogous to rabbinic responsa . According to the Talmud ( Tractate Makot ), 613 mitzvot are in

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2624-639: The Rambam ( Maimonides ). Torat Ha-Olah (תורת העלה), written between 1560 and 1570, was a discussion of the deeper meaning of the Temple in Jerusalem and the temple sacrifices. In addition to discussing the principles of the Jewish faith invoked, Isserles connects the Torah laws and symbols to philosophy, physics, astronomy, and Kabbalah . The title translates into the "Law of the Burnt-Offering." In addition to citing

2706-535: The Shabbat and holidays). Through the ages, various rabbinical authorities have classified some of the 613 commandments in many ways. A different approach divides the laws into a different set of categories: The development of halakha in the period before the Maccabees , which has been described as the formative period in the history of its development, is shrouded in obscurity. Historian Yitzhak Baer argued that there

2788-505: The Talmud . In 1553 he was appointed as dayan ; he also served on the Council of the Four Lands . He was approached by many other well-known rabbis, including Yosef Karo , for Halachic decisions. He was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of Poland , and was the primary halakhic authority for European Jewry of his day. He died in Kraków and was buried next to his synagogue. On his tombstone

2870-551: The Tanakh and Talmud, Isserles heavily references the Midrash . Isserles also wrote: Halakha Halakha ( / h ɑː ˈ l ɔː x ə / hah- LAW -khə ; Hebrew : הֲלָכָה , romanized :  hălāḵā , Sephardic : [halaˈχa] ), also transliterated as halacha , halakhah , and halocho ( Ashkenazic : [haˈlɔχɔ] ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from

2952-660: The Written and Oral Torah . Halakha is based on biblical commandments ( mitzvot ), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic laws , and the customs and traditions which were compiled in the many books such as the Shulchan Aruch . Halakha is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word is derived from the root which means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). Halakha not only guides religious practices and beliefs; it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life. Historically, widespread observance of

3034-496: The acronym Rema , was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi , talmudist , and posek (expert in Jewish law). He is considered the " Maimonides of Polish Jewry." Isserles was born in Kraków , Poland . His father, Israel ben Josef (known as Isserl), was a prominent talmudist and independently wealthy, who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first rabbi of Brisk . (In an era which preceded

3116-550: The tanna ("repeater") to whom they are first ascribed. It is certain, however, that the seven middot ("measurements", and referring to [good] behavior) of Hillel and the thirteen of Ishmael are earlier than the time of Hillel himself, who was the first to transmit them. The Talmud gives no information concerning the origin of the middot, although the Geonim ("Sages") regarded them as Sinaitic ( Law given to Moses at Sinai ). The middot seem to have been first laid down as abstract rules by

3198-469: The "divine" authority of halakha , traditional Jews have greater reluctance to change, not only the laws themselves but also other customs and habits, than traditional Rabbinical Judaism did prior to the advent of Reform in the 19th century. Orthodox Jews believe that halakha is a religious system whose core represents the revealed will of God. Although Orthodox Judaism acknowledges that rabbis have made many decisions and decrees regarding Jewish Law where

3280-456: The "traditionalist" wing believe that the halakha represents a personal starting-point, holding that each Jew is obligated to interpret the Torah, Talmud and other Jewish works for themselves, and this interpretation will create separate commandments for each person. Those in the liberal and classical wings of Reform believe that in this day and era, most Jewish religious rituals are no longer necessary, and many hold that following most Jewish laws

3362-568: The "words of the Zohar which were given at Sinai ...". Writing to a friend who had become a rabbi in Germany, Isserles expressed his preference for living in Poland over Germany: "You would be better off living with us in Poland on stale bread if need be, but safe". Isserles is renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha (Jewish law), entitled ha-Mapah (lit., "the tablecloth"), an inline commentary on

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3444-492: The CJLS's acceptance of Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz's responsum decreeing the biblical category of mamzer as "inoperative." The CJLS adopted the responsum's view that the "morality which we learn through the larger, unfolding narrative of our tradition" informs the application of Mosaic law. The responsum cited several examples of how the rabbinic sages declined to enforce punishments explicitly mandated by Torah law. The examples include

3526-605: The Halakhic process, a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning. Rabbis generally base their opinions on the primary sources of halakha as well as on precedent set by previous rabbinic opinions. The major sources and genre of halakha consulted include: In antiquity, the Sanhedrin functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature (in the US judicial system) for Judaism, and had

3608-490: The Noahide Laws. They are a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God to the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humanity. Despite its internal rigidity, halakha has a degree of flexibility in finding solutions to modern problems that are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. From the very beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism, halakhic inquiry allowed for a "sense of continuity between past and present,

3690-460: The Orthodox views that halakha was given at Sinai, Orthodox thought (and especially modern Orthodox thought) encourages debate, allows for disagreement, and encourages rabbis to enact decisions based on contemporary needs. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein says in his introduction to his collection of responsa that a rabbi who studies the texts carefully is required to provide a halakhic decision. That decision

3772-617: The Perplexed , and then only on Shabbat and Yom Tov - and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err through Kabbalah . Despite his suggestions about learning philosophy sparingly, Isserles and his students are considered the "first wave" of philosophical learning within Polish Jewry and is deemed the "Isserles School" by Leonard S. Levin. Isserles had several children: "Drezil (named after his maternal grandmother), wife of R. Bunem Meisels. A daughter whose name

3854-419: The Talmud states that in exceptional cases, the Sages had the authority to "uproot matters from the Torah". In Talmudic and classical Halakhic literature, this authority refers to the authority to prohibit some things that would otherwise be Biblically sanctioned ( shev v'al ta'aseh , "thou shall stay seated and not do"). Rabbis may rule that a specific mitzvah from the Torah should not be performed, e. g., blowing

3936-454: The Torah is true, or even morally correct, just because the Torah is old". The Torah is both disagreed with and questioned. Humanistic Jews believe that the entire Jewish experience, and not only the Torah, should be studied as a source for Jewish behavior and ethical values. Some Jews believe that gentiles are bound by a subset of halakha called the Seven Laws of Noah , also referred to as

4018-697: The Torah, 248 positive ("thou shalt") mitzvot and 365 negative ("thou shalt not") mitzvot , supplemented by seven mitzvot legislated by the rabbis of antiquity. Currently, many of the 613 commandments cannot be performed until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and the universal resettlement of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel by the Messiah. According to one count, only 369 can be kept, meaning that 40% of mitzvot are not possible to perform. Rabbinic Judaism divides laws into categories: This division between revealed and rabbinic commandments may influence

4100-446: The age of 20 and he later established the " Rema Synagogue " in Kraków in her memory (originally his house, built by his father in his honor—which he gave to the community). He later married the sister of Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen. He returned to Kraków in 1549, establishing a large yeshiva where as a wealthy man, he supported his pupils. In his teaching, he was opposed to pilpul and emphasized simple interpretation of

4182-409: The application of a law to new situations, but do not consider such applications as constituting a "change" in halakha . For example, many Orthodox rulings concerning electricity are derived from rulings concerning fire, as closing an electrical circuit may cause a spark. In contrast, Conservative poskim consider that switching on electrical equipment is physically and chemically more like turning on

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4264-483: The authoritative, canonical text which is recorded in the Hebrew Bible . Under contemporary Israeli law , certain areas of Israeli family and personal status law are, for Jews, under the authority of the rabbinic courts, so they are treated according to halakha . Some minor differences in halakha are found among Ashkenazi Jews , Mizrahi Jews , Sephardi Jews , Yemenite , Ethiopian and other Jewish communities which historically lived in isolation. The word halakha

4346-552: The canonical status of the Shulhan Arukh." Today, the term " Shulchan Aruch " refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. This consolidation of the two works strengthened the underlying unity of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities. It is through this unification that the Shulkhan Aruch became the universally accepted Code of Law for the entire Jewish people , with the notable exception of Yemenite Jews who still follow

4428-527: The common use of surnames , Moses became known by his patronymic , Isserles.) At first he studied at home, and then in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna , who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles' halachic rulings, and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal . His first wife died young, at

4510-430: The contrary, he too expressed reverence and respect for it, and whenever possible endeavored to uphold it and also to explain its origin. Only, unlike many great Talmudic scholars, he refused to follow it blindly. When convinced of the unsound basis of a Minhag, he was ready to repudiate it regardless of its acceptance by the people." Furthermore: "The Talmud is, of course, the great reservoir to which R. Isserles turns as

4592-463: The days of the Sanhedrin, however, no body or authority has been generally regarded as having the authority to create universally recognized precedents. As a result, halakha has developed in a somewhat different fashion from Anglo-American legal systems with a Supreme Court able to provide universally accepted precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-reviewed. When

4674-417: The divine language of the Torah is distinguished from the speech of men by the fact that in the former no word or sound is superfluous. Some scholars have observed a similarity between these rabbinic rules of interpretation and the hermeneutics of ancient Hellenistic culture. For example, Saul Lieberman argues that the names of rabbi Ishmael's middot (e. g., kal vahomer , a combination of the archaic form of

4756-458: The eternity of Torah be understood [properly], for the changes in the generations and their opinions, situation and material and moral condition requires changes in their laws, decrees and improvements. The view held by Conservative Judaism is that the Torah is not the word of God in a literal sense. However, the Torah is still held as mankind's record of its understanding of God's revelation, and thus still has divine authority. Therefore, halakha

4838-500: The fact that many times incorrect references are given. An anonymous scholar placed them at the end of each comment and gradually they have been mistaken as being indications of the author himself." Isserles' weaving "his comments into the main text as glosses, indicates, besides upholding the traditional Ashkenazi attitude to a text, that the work itself, meant to serve as a textbook for laymen, had been accepted in Rema's yeshivah at Krakow as

4920-401: The first step in attempting to solve a problem. The question at hand is immediately referred to an identical or similar case in the Talmud. The second step is the weighing of the opinions of the ראשונים, i.e. Alfasi (רי”ף), Tosafists , Nachmanides , etc. expanding and explaining the text. The opinion of the majority is followed by R. Isserles and even Maimonides, whom he respected very highly,

5002-462: The halakha, which is rooted in the Talmud, as the norm of Jewish life, availing ourselves, at the same time, of the method implicit therein to interpret and develop the body of Jewish Law in accordance with the actual conditions and spiritual needs of modern life." Reform Judaism holds that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative (seen as binding) on Jews today. Those in

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5084-475: The importance of a rule, its enforcement and the nature of its ongoing interpretation. Halakhic authorities may disagree on which laws fall into which categories or the circumstances (if any) under which prior rabbinic rulings can be re-examined by contemporary rabbis, but all Halakhic Jews hold that both categories exist and that the first category is immutable, with exceptions only for life-saving and similar emergency circumstances. A second classical distinction

5166-542: The laws of the Torah is first in evidence beginning in the second century BCE. In the Jewish diaspora , halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of law – both civil and religious , since no differentiation of them exists in classical Judaism. Since the Jewish Enlightenment ( Haskalah ) and Jewish emancipation , some have come to view the halakha as less binding in day-to-day life, because it relies on rabbinic interpretation, as opposed to

5248-442: The other hand, took a moderate approach despite being concerned with philosophy entering into education. He stated that philosophy should be learned only "sporadically", and that religious scripture should always be held in a higher esteem. Around 1550, he had several correspondences with Rabbi Solomon Luria . Isserles represented the pro-philosophy aspect of study, while Luria was more critical. Isserles taught that "the aim of man

5330-463: The performer closer to God. Negative commandments (traditionally 365 in number) forbid a specific action, and violations create a distance from God. A further division is made between chukim ("decrees" – laws without obvious explanation, such as shatnez , the law prohibiting wearing clothing made of mixtures of linen and wool), mishpatim ("judgements" – laws with obvious social implications) and eduyot ("testimonies" or "commemorations", such as

5412-482: The pianist Julius Isserlis , the cellist Steven Isserlis , the author Inbali Iserles, the mathematician Arieh Iserles and the statistician Leon Isserlis . Isserles is perhaps best known for his halakhic works, chief among them his notes to the Shulchan Aruch by Yosef Karo . He is noted for his approach to customs (minhagim): "it should be remembered that R. Isserles did not regard the Jewish Minhag lightly. On

5494-551: The power to administer binding law, including both received law and its own rabbinic decrees, on all Jews—rulings of the Sanhedrin became halakha ; see Oral law . That court ceased to function in its full mode in 40 CE. Today, the authoritative application of Jewish law is left to the local rabbi, and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability. In branches of Judaism that follow halakha , lay individuals make numerous ad-hoc decisions but are regarded as not having authority to decide certain issues definitively. Since

5576-701: The practical application of the 613 mitzvot ("commandments") in the Torah, as developed through discussion and debate in the classical rabbinic literature , especially the Mishnah and the Talmud (the " Oral Torah "), and as codified in the Mishneh Torah and Shulchan Aruch . Because halakha is developed and applied by various halakhic authorities rather than one sole "official voice", different individuals and communities may well have different answers to halakhic questions. With few exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because during

5658-515: The proper use of electricity on the Sabbath and holidays. Often, as to the applicability of the law in any given situation, the proviso is to "consult your local rabbi or posek ". This notion lends rabbis a certain degree of local authority; however, for more complex questions the issue is passed on to higher rabbis who will then issue a teshuva , which is a responsa that is binding. Indeed, rabbis will continuously issue different opinions and will constantly review each other's work so as to maintain

5740-409: The responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the posek handling a then-current question. In addition, the halakha embodies a wide range of principles that permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem). Notwithstanding the potential for innovation, rabbis and Jewish communities differ greatly on how they make changes in halakha . Notably, poskim frequently extend

5822-459: The rulings of the Tur —which was widely accepted among the Ashkenazim and Sephardim —comparing these with rulings of other halakhic authorities . The Beth Yosef was published while Isserles was at work on the Darkhei Moshe . Recognizing that Karo's commentary largely met his objectives, Isserles published the Darkhei Moshe in a modified form. "In publishing the דרכי משה, R. Isserles rendered

5904-456: The teachers of Hillel, though they were not immediately recognized by all as valid and binding. Different schools interpreted and modified them, restricted or expanded them, in various ways. Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael and their scholars especially contributed to the development or establishment of these rules. "It must be borne in mind, however, that neither Hillel, Ishmael, nor [a contemporary of theirs named] Eliezer ben Jose sought to give

5986-401: The trial of the accused adulteress ( sotah ), the "law of breaking the neck of the heifer," and the application of the death penalty for the "rebellious child." Kaplan Spitz argues that the punishment of the mamzer has been effectively inoperative for nearly two thousand years due to deliberate rabbinic inaction. Further he suggested that the rabbis have long regarded the punishment declared by

6068-409: The truest sense of halakha . Overall, this process allows rabbis to maintain connection of traditional Jewish law to modern life. Of course, the degree of flexibility depends on the sect of Judaism, with Reform being the most flexible, Conservative somewhat in the middle, and Orthodox being much more stringent and rigid. Modern critics, however, have charged that with the rise of movements that challenge

6150-500: The utmost accuracy and care. The most widely accepted codes of Jewish law are known as Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch . Orthodox Judaism has a range of opinions on the circumstances and extent to which change is permissible. Haredi Jews generally hold that even minhagim (customs) must be retained, and existing precedents cannot be reconsidered. Modern Orthodox authorities are more inclined to permit limited changes in customs and some reconsideration of precedent. Despite

6232-715: The word for "straw" and the word for "clay" – "straw and clay", referring to the obvious [means of making a mud brick]) are Hebrew translations of Greek terms, although the methods of those middot are not Greek in origin. Orthodox Judaism holds that halakha is the divine law as laid out in the Torah (five books of Moses), rabbinical laws, rabbinical decrees, and customs combined. The rabbis, who made many additions and interpretations of Jewish Law, did so only in accordance with regulations they believe were given for this purpose to Moses on Mount Sinai , see Deuteronomy 17:11 . See Orthodox Judaism, Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition . Conservative Judaism holds that halakha

6314-521: The written Torah itself is nonspecific, they did so only in accordance with regulations received by Moses on Mount Sinai (see Deuteronomy 5:8–13 ). These regulations were transmitted orally until shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple . They were then recorded in the Mishnah, and explained in the Talmud and commentaries throughout history up until the present day. Orthodox Judaism believes that subsequent interpretations have been derived with

6396-587: The ב”י omitted. Thus, Isserles, in his responsa as well as in the ד”מ and his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, served as a supplement and offered his community the code of Law adjusted to its authorities, customs, and needs. He spread the “cloth” over the table prepared by his contemporary, the ב”י." Isserles, like Yosef Karo in the Shulchan Aruch , often quotes Kabbalistic sources and opinions in his various works, and writes of his great joy upon finding that his ruling concurred with what he later found written in

6478-517: Was "considered to be an interpretation and supplement to Karo's work, while also challenging its claim to universal authority by introducing Ashkenazic traditions and customs that differed from the Sephardic ones. Rather than challenge the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh, however, Isserles established the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh as the authoritative text. In most of the editions since 1574, the Shulhan ‘Arukh

6560-551: Was an oral tradition by design, to allow for the creative application of halakha to each time period, and even enabling halakha to evolve. He writes: Thus, whoever has due regard for the truth will conclude that the reason the [proper] interpretation of the Torah was transmitted orally and forbidden to be written down was not to make [the Torah] unchanging and not to tie the hands of the sages of every generation from interpreting Scripture according to their understanding. Only in this way can

6642-409: Was little pure academic legal activity at this period and that many of the laws originating at this time were produced by a means of neighbourly good conduct rules in a similar way as carried out by Greeks in the age of Solon . For example, the first chapter of Bava Kamma , contains a formulation of the law of torts worded in the first person. The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through

6724-459: Was printed with HaMapah, thus creating an interesting tension that was realized on the printed page. It was an act of integrating the Sephardic tradition and its accommodation into the Ashkenazi world, the confirmation of the authority and its undermining appearing on the same page." The citations "indicating the sources in earlier authorities of the decisions in the annotations to the Shulchan Aruch, were not placed by Isserles. This may be seen from

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