Halakha, also transliterated as halacha, halakhah, and halocho, is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from 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 of it might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word is derived from the root which means "to behave". Halakha not only guides religious practices and beliefs, it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life.
The Shulchan Aruch, sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Ottoman Syria by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely accepted compilation of halakha or Jewish law ever written.
Mishpat Ivri are the aspects of halakha that are relevant to non-religious or secular law. In addition, the term refers to an academic approach to the Jewish legal tradition and a concomitant effort to apply that tradition to modern Israeli law.
Ovadia Yosef was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Yosef's responsa were highly regarded within Haredi circles, particularly among Mizrahi communities, among whom he was regarded as "the most important living halakhic authority".
A beth din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in modern day Israel. Today, it is invested with legal powers in a number of religious matters both in Israel and in Jewish communities in the diaspora, where its judgments hold varying degrees of authority in matters specifically related to Jewish religious life.
In Jewish law and history, Acharonim are the leading rabbis and poskim living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifically since the writing of the Shulchan Aruch in 1563 CE.
Rabbi Moses Isserles, also known by the acronym Rema, was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi, talmudist, and posek.
Nahum Rakover, professor emeritus at Bar-Ilan University, is an Israeli former deputy attorney general. Rakover is a leading researcher in the application of traditional Jewish rabbinic law to Israel's state legal system.
Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg was a rabbi, posek, and dayan in Jerusalem. He is known as a leading authority on medicine and Jewish law and referred to as the Tzitz Eliezer after his 21-volume halachic treatise covering a wide breadth of halacha, including Jewish medical ethics, and daily ritual issues from Shabbat to kashrut.
Hayim David HaLevi , was Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo.
A halachic/halakhic state is a Jewish state that endorses Judaism in an official capacity and derives most or all aspects of governance from halakha.
Moshe Zemer was a Reform Rabbi in Israel between 1963-2011. He was the co-founder of Jewish Reform institutions in Israel and served in key positions in them, including as chair of MARAM, board member of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, board member of the Union for Progressive Rabbis in the United States, and a senior lecturer of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.
Shlomo Yosef Zevin was one of the most prominent Orthodox, Religious Zionist rabbis of the 20th century. He founded the Encyclopedia Talmudit, a Hebrew Halachic Encyclopedia, of which he was chief editor until his death.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Judaism:
Aviad Hacohen is an Israeli attorney and professor of law.
Ari Elon is an Israeli writer, a Talmud scholar and educator.
Gerald Blidstein was professor emeritus of Jewish philosophy at Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He was the Israel Prize laureate in Jewish philosophy (2006) and had been a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences since 2007.
Naftali Rothenberg is an Israeli scholar, rabbi and author. He is known for his studies on the wisdom of love in Jewish Canonical literature and his inclusive leadership in the Israeli rabbinate.
Hefker beth-din hefker, "that which is declared by a court ownerless property is forthwith accounted ownerless property", is a principle in Jewish religious law that stipulates the right of a Jewish court of law in what regards jus in re aliena. The principle is derived from an episode in the Book of Ezra, where Ezra the Scribe commanded the Jewish people to return to their former country, threatening to confiscate the property of anyone who refuses to go-up to the Land of Israel, after having lived in exile.
Ratzon Halevi Arusi is the Chief Rabbi of the city of Kiryat Ono, Israel, member of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Founder and chairman of the organization Halichot Am Yisrael, and President of Machon Mishnat Ha-Rambam. He has a PhD in law from Tel Aviv University, and was a lecturer in Mishpat Ivri at Bar Ilan University. He is the winner of the Katz Prize for 2019. He is considered the primary disciple of Rabbi Yosef Qafih (Kapach).
