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57-612: During the middle ages migration between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa was common due to local political and economic conditions and depending on the ruling kingdom and treatment of Jews. Jews from Spain often fled to Morocco as early as the seventh century and during the twelfth century, Jews in both countries fled, crossing back and forth between the two lands. Toshavim had their own minhagim ( Judaic traditions) and they spoke Judeo-Arabic or Judeo-Berber dialects. The new arrivals did not always deal well with

114-585: A minhag typically requires hatarat nedarim or sh'eilat chakham : Halachic procedures for absolving oneself from oaths. This was often necessary when, for example, an Ashkenazi Jew moved to the Ottoman Empire and wished to join the local Sephardi community. Jewish law provides for a number of mechanisms to change or remove a custom when it is held to be mistaken or illogical. Orthodox rabbi and historian of Jewish law Menachem Elon writes: The acute displacement brought about by World War II and

171-526: A code but does not know the reason for the ruling; such a one walks like a blind person. Samuel Eidels (known as the "Maharsha", 1555–1631), criticized those who rule directly from the Shulchan Aruch without being fully conversant with the Talmudic source(s) of the ruling: "In these generations, those who rule from the Shulchan Aruch without knowing the reasoning and Talmudic basis ... are among

228-615: A different community and accepted its minhag . ( Perisha rules that if one abandons a nusach that has been accepted universally by the wider Jewish community, his prayer is disqualified and must be repeated using the accepted nusach : Arba'ah Turim , Orach Chayim , 120 ad loc). The main segments of traditional Judaism, as differentiated by nusach (broadly and narrowly), are these: Shulchan Aruch The Shulchan Aruch ( Hebrew : שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך [ʃulˈħan ʕaˈrux] , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as

285-418: A reason to) annul the words of these geniuses. Jonathan Eybeschutz (d. 1764) wrote that the great breadth of the work would make it impossible to constantly come to the correct conclusion if not for the "spirit of God". Therefore, says Eybeschutz, one can not rely on a view not presented by the Shulchan Aruch . Yehuda Heller Kahana (d. 1819) said that the reason one can not rely on a view not formulated in

342-463: Is considered authoritative by many adherents of Orthodox Judaism , especially among those typically associated with Ashkenazic yeshivas . The Ben Ish Chai , Kaf Ha'Chaim , and much more recently, the Yalkut Yosef are similar works by Sephardic Rabbis for their communities. Sections of the Shulchan Aruch are studied in many Jewish schools throughout the world on a daily basis. There

399-401: Is no issue here concerning the prohibition against having two courts in the same city ['lo tithgodedu'’], since every congregation should practice according to its original custom ... Similarly, many later halachic authorities predicated the acceptance of the authority of the Shulchan Aruch on the lack of an existing and widely accepted custom to the contrary. Eventually though, the rulings of

456-675: The Arba'ah Turim , Darkhei Moshe, at about the same time as Yosef Karo. Karo finished his work "Bet Yosef" first, and it was first presented to the Rema as a gift from one of his students. Upon receiving the gift, the Rema could not understand how he had spent so many years unaware of Karo's efforts. After looking through the Bet Yosef, the Rema realized that Karo had mainly relied upon Sephardic poskim . In place of Karo's three standard authorities, Isserles cites "the later authorities" (chiefly based on

513-621: The Beit Yosef , Karo read opinions in books he hadn't seen before, which he then included in the Shulchan Aruch . In his famous methodological work Yad Malachi , Malachi ben Jacob HaKohen cites a later halachic authority (Shmuel Abuhab) who reports rumors that the Shulchan Aruch was a summary of Karo's earlier rulings in Beit Yosef which he then gave to certain of his students to edit and compile. He concludes that this would then account for those seemingly self-contradictory instances in

570-580: The Beit Yosef . The format of this work parallels that adopted by Jacob ben Asher in his Arba'ah Turim , but more concisely; without citing sources. Shulchan Aruch has been "the code" of Rabbinical Judaism for all ritual and legal questions that arose after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem ; see Halakha § Orthodox Judaism and Yeshiva § Jewish law re its contemporary function and status. The author himself had no very high opinion of

627-737: The Code of Jewish Law , is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed , Ottoman Syria (today in Israel ) 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. The halachic rulings in the Shulchan Aruch generally follow Sephardic law and customs , whereas Ashkenazi Jews generally follow

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684-539: The Hebrew Bible , both times in the same verse and translated as "driving": And the lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but has not turned back. And it looks like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, who drives wildly." Homiletically, one could argue that the use of the word minhag in Jewish law reflects its Biblical Hebrew origins as "the (manner of) driving (a chariot)". Whereas halakha "law", from

741-514: The Ketzoth ha-Choshen and Avnei Millu'im , Netivoth ha-Mishpat , the Vilna Gaon , Rabbi Yechezkel Landau ( Dagul Mervavah ), Rabbis Akiva Eger , Moses Sofer , and Chaim Joseph David Azulai ( Birkei Yosef ) whose works are widely recognized and cited extensively in later halachic literature. In particular, Mishnah Berurah (which summarizes and decides amongst the later authorities) on

798-551: The Rosh 55:9). The controversy itself may explain why the Shulchan Aruch became an authoritative code, despite significant opposition, and even against the will of its author, while Maimonides ' (1135–1204) Mishneh Torah rulings were not necessarily accepted as binding among the Franco-German Jews, perhaps owing to the criticism and influence of Abraham ibn Daud (known as the "Ravad", 1110–1180). The answer may lie in

855-499: The Shulchan Aruch became the accepted standard not only in Europe and the diaspora, but even in the land of Israel where they had previously followed other authorities. Following its initial appearance, many rabbis criticised the appearance of this latest code of Jewish law, echoing similar criticisms of previous codes of law . Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (known as "Maharal", 1520–1609) wrote: To decide halakhic questions from

912-417: The Shulchan Aruch has been printed with Isserles' annotations in small Rashi print —and indicated by a preceding "הגה"—interspersed with Karo's text. Surrounding this are the primary commentators for the section: On the margins are various other commentaries and cross references; see below . As commentaries on the work proliferated more sophisticated printing styles became required, similar to those of

969-426: The Shulchan Aruch , as almost all his words lack accompanying explanations, particularly (when writing about) monetary law. Besides this, we see that many legal doubts arise daily, and are mostly the subject of scholarly debate, necessitating vast wisdom and proficiency to arrive at a sufficiently sourced ruling. The strongest criticism against all such codes of Jewish law is the contention that they inherently violate

1026-734: The Shulchan Aruch . Karo initially intended to rely on his own judgment regarding differences of opinion between the various authorities, especially where he could support his own view based on the Talmud. But he wrote that he abandoned this idea because: "Who has the courage to rear his head aloft among mountains, the heights of God ?" Hence Karo adopted the Halakhot of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (the Rif ), Maimonides (the Rambam ), and Asher ben Jehiel (the Rosh ) as his standards, accepting as authoritative

1083-483: The Shulchan Jewry. A large body of commentaries have appeared on the Shulchan Aruch , beginning soon after its publication. The first major gloss, Hagahot by Moses Isserles , was published shortly after the Shulchan Aruch appeared. Isserles' student, Yehoshua Falk HaKohen published Sefer Me'irath Enayim (on Choshen Mishpat , abbreviated as Sema ) several decades after the main work. Important works by

1140-476: The minhag as an object of great importance, and not to be omitted in a codex. This point, especially, induced Isserles to write his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch , that the customs ( minhagim ) of the Ashkenazim might be recognized, and not be set aside through Karo's reputation. Karo wrote the Shulchan Aruch in his old age, for the benefit of those who did not possess the education necessary to understand

1197-414: The minhagim , and attempts have been made to revive minhagim that have fallen into disuse. Nusach (properly nósach ) primarily means "text" or "version"; the correct wording of a religious text. Thus, the nusach tefillah is the text of the prayers generally or as used by a particular community. In common use, nusach has come to signify the entire liturgical tradition of the community, including

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1254-642: The 'destroyers of the world' and should be protested." Another prominent critic of the Shulchan Aruch was Joel Sirkis (1561–1640), rabbi and author of a commentary to the Arba'ah Turim entitled the "New House" ( בית חדש , commonly abbreviated as the Bach ב״ח ), and Meir Lublin , author of the commentary on the Bach entitled the Shut HaBach ( שו״ת הב״ח ): It is impossible to rule (in most cases) based on

1311-589: The Holocaust , and the large-scale immigration to the United States , various European countries, and especially the State of Israel, have led to a mixing of various minhagim and arguably the gradual disuse of certain customs. In addition, the baal teshuva movement has created a large group who have no clear tradition from their parents. In response to these phenomena, certain scholars have focused on

1368-526: The Orach Chaim section of Shulchan Aruch has achieved widespread acceptance. It is frequently even studied as a stand-alone commentary, since it is assumed to discuss all or most of the views of the major commentaries on the topics that it covers. Kaf Ha'Chaim is a similar Sephardic work. See further below re these type of works. Several commentaries are printed on each page. Be'er ha-Golah , by Rabbi Moshe Rivkash, provides cross-references to

1425-737: The School of Shammai [he may do so, but] according to their leniencies and their stringencies': The RaMBaM, is the greatest of all the Torah authorities, and all the communities of the Land of Israel and the Arab-controlled lands and the West [North Africa] practice according to his word, and accepted him upon themselves as their Chief Rabbi. Whoever practices according to him with his leniencies and his stringencies, why coerce them to budge from him? And all

1482-504: The Sephardic and Ashkenazic customs differ. These glosses are sometimes referred to as the mappah , literally, the 'tablecloth,' to the Shulchan Aruch's 'Set Table.' Almost all published editions of the Shulchan Aruch include this gloss. The importance of the minhag ("prevailing local custom") is also a point of dispute between Karo and Isserles: while Karo held fast to original authorities and material reasons, Isserles considered

1539-441: The Talmud's ruling fundamentally applies to practices undertaken by learned individuals; innovations by the unlearned need only be followed publicly. Other Halachic authorities hold that the Talmud's ruling applies to all valid practices initiated by either learned or unlearned individuals. In most cases, personal acceptance of a new minhag is tantamount to vowing performance of that minhag . Consequently, abandonment of such

1596-478: The Talmud, other law codes , commentaries, and responsa , and thereby indicates the various sources for Halachic decisions. Beiur HaGra , by the Vilna Gaon as mentioned, traces the underlying machloket (deliberation), including how it eventually plays out, and evaluates this practice in light of the various opinions of rishonim here. In the late 18th century, there were several attempts to recompile

1653-420: The Talmud. Additionally, many recent publishers have reformatted this work with the intent to make it more accessible to the reader. The Shulchan Aruch is largely based on an earlier work by Karo, titled Beit Yosef . Although the Shulchan Aruch is largely a codification of the rulings of the Beit Yosef , it includes various rulings that are not mentioned at all in the Beit Yosef , because after completing

1710-531: The above-mentioned works in his Chayei Adam and Chochmath Adam . Similar works are Ba'er Heitev and Sha'arei Teshuvah / Pitchei Teshuvah (usually published as commentaries in most editions of the Shulchan Aruch ), as well as Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried of Hungary). Danzig's and Ganzfried's works do not follow the structure of the Shulchan Aruch , but given their single-voiced approach, are considered easier to follow for those with less background in halacha . The Mishna Berura ,

1767-477: The arbitrary selection of the three authorities upon whose opinions Karo based his work. After realizing this, the Rema shortened his work on the Tur , entitled Darkhei Moshe, to focus only on rulings which differ from Bet Yosef . The halachic rulings in the Shulchan Aruch generally follow the Sephardic custom. The Rema added his glosses and published them as a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch , specifying whenever

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1824-513: The beginning of the sixteenth century. Karo had already been opposed by several Sephardic contemporaries, Yom Tov Tzahalon , who designated the Shulchan Aruch as a book for "children and ignoramuses", and Jacob Castro, whose work Erekh ha-Shulchan consists of critical glosses to the Shulchan Aruch . Moses Isserles and Maharshal were Karo's first important adversaries in Eastern Europe. Further in response to those who wished to force

1881-532: The binding Jewish legal code. The later major halachic authorities defer to both Karo and Isserles and cite their work as the baseline from which further halachic rulings evolve. The 17th-century scholar Joshua Höschel ben Joseph wrote, [F]rom their wells do we drink and should a question arise (on their work), not for this shall we come to annul their words, rather we must study further as much as we can, and if we are unable to resolve (our question) then we will ascribe it to our own lack of knowledge and not (as

1938-407: The codes without knowing the source of the ruling was not the intent of these authors. Had they known that their works would lead to the abandonment of Talmud , they would not have written them. It is better for one to decide on the basis of the Talmud even though he might err, for a scholar must depend solely on his understanding. As such, he is beloved of God, and preferable to the one who rules from

1995-581: The common minhag for (most of) the two communities was accepted only in 18th century. Minhagim Minhag ( Hebrew : מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. מנהגים, minhagim ) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism . A related concept, Nusach (נוסח), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers . The triliteral n-h-g ( Hebrew : נ־ה־ג ) means primarily "to drive" or, by extension, "to conduct (oneself)". The actual word minhag appears twice in

2052-567: The consensus of Alfasi and Maimonides. Karo very often decides disputed cases without necessarily considering the age and importance of the authority in question, expressing simply his own views. He follows Maimonides' example, as seen in Mishneh Torah , rather than that of Jacob ben Asher, who seldom decides between ancient authorities. Several reasons induced Karo to connect his work with the "Tur" , instead of Maimonides' code. The "Rema" ( Moses Isserles ) started writing his commentary on

2109-821: The customs of a local or ethnic community. In addition to the 613 commandments , Jews have traditionally considered Halacha (Jewish law as derived from the Talmud , responsa literature , Torah , and later codes) binding upon all Jews. In addition to these, there have always been customs and traditions not in the law itself. Some customs were at some points universally adopted (e.g., head-covering among men ) or almost universally (e.g., monogamy ). Others were or are observed by major segments of Jewry but not by others (e.g., not eating kitniyot on Passover ). Other customs are bound to certain localities or groups that originated in certain localities. These minhagim exist in various forms: Various sources in rabbinic literature stress

2166-715: The earlier statements, since all matters that are not clarified in the Babylonian Talmud may be questioned and restated by any person, and even the statements of the Geonim may be differed from him ... just as the statements of the Amoraim differed from the earlier ones. On the contrary, we regard the statements of later scholars to be more authoritative because they knew the reasoning of the earlier scholars as well as their own, and took it into consideration in making their decision ( Piskei Ha'Rosh , Sanhedrin 4:6, responsa of

2223-469: The fact that the criticism by ibn Daud undermined confidence in Maimonides' work, while Isserles (who corresponded with Karo) does not simply criticize, but supplements Karo's work extensively. The result was that Ashkenazim accepted the Shulchan Aruch , assuming that together with Isserles' glosses it was a reliable authority. This then became broadly accepted among Jewish communities around the world as

2280-628: The halachic rulings of Moses Isserles , whose glosses to the Shulchan Aruch note where the Sephardic and Ashkenazi customs differ. These glosses are widely referred to as the mappah (literally: the "tablecloth") to the Shulchan Aruch's "Set Table". Almost all published editions of the Shulchan Aruch include this gloss, and the term "Shulchan Aruch" has come to denote both Karo's work as well as Isserles', with Karo usually referred to as "the Mekhaber " ( Hebrew : הַמְחַבֵּר , "author") and Isserles as "the Rema" (an acronym of Moshe Isserles). Due to

2337-529: The importance of a long-held tradition, culminating in the statement "the minhag of our fathers is [equivalent to] Torah". Custom can thus determine Halachic practice in cases of disagreement among rabbinic authorities. In numerous instances, Rabbi Moses Isserles warns that one should not abolish long-held customs. (Isserles' gloss on the Shulchan Aruch was, in fact, written so as to delineate Ashkenazi minhagim alongside Sephardi practices in

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2394-489: The increased availability of the printing press , the 16th century was an era of legal codification in Poland , the Ottoman Empire and other countries. Previously unwritten laws and customs were being compiled and recorded; the Shulchan Aruch was one of these. In the century after it was published by Karo (whose vision was a unified Judaism under the Sephardic traditions) it became the code of law for Ashkenazim, together with

2451-446: The later authorities ( acharonim ) include but are not limited to: While these major commentaries enjoy widespread acceptance, some early editions of the Shulchan Aruch were self-published (primarily in the late 17th and early 18th centuries) with commentaries by various rabbis, although these commentaries never achieved significant recognition. A wealth of later works include commentary and exposition by such halachic authorities as

2508-458: The later commentaries of Moses Isserles and the 17th century Polish rabbis. The Shulhan Arukh (and its forerunner, the Beit Yosef ) follow the same structure as Arba'ah Turim by Jacob ben Asher . There are four volumes, each subdivided into many chapters and paragraphs: In the aside page, Karo's and Isserles' combined text is in the center of the page, top; since the 17th century,

2565-657: The local Jews. For example, in Algiers they called the local Jews derisively " turban -wearers" and vice versa, the Spanish Jews were called " beret -wearers". Despite the fact that Toshavim were apparently overwhelmed and absorbed by Sephardic immigrants, the differences in many areas of communal lives of Toshavim and Megorashim persisted for a very long time: separate negidim , separate synagogues, separate teachers, separate cemeteries, etc. For example, in Fez, Morocco ,

2622-503: The main work of halakha by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the " Chafetz Chaim ") is a collation of the opinions of later authorities on the Orach Chayim section of the Shulchan Aruch . Aruch HaShulchan , by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein , is a more analytical work attempting the same task from a different angle, and covering all sections of the Shulchan Aruch . The former, though narrower in scope, enjoys much wider popularity and

2679-522: The major halakhic opinions into a simpler, more accessible form. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi wrote a "Shulchan Aruch" at the behest of the Hasidic leader, Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch . To distinguish this work from Karo's, it is generally referred to as Shulchan Aruch HaRav . Rabbi Abraham Danzig was the first in the Lithuanian Jewish community to attempt a summary of the opinions in

2736-461: The more so if also their fathers and forefathers practiced accordingly: for their children are not to turn right or left from the RaMBaM of blessed memory. And even if communities that practice according to the Rosh or other authorities like him became the majority, they cannot coerce the minority of congregations practicing according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to practice like they do. And there

2793-471: The musical rendition. It is narrower than minhag , which can refer to custom in any field and not necessarily that of communal prayer. Both nusach and minhag can thus be used for liturgic rite or liturgic tradition ; sometimes, a nusach appears to be a subdivision of a minhag or vice versa; see different Jewish rites and popular siddurim under Siddur . In general, one must pray according to one's " nusach of origin" unless one has formally joined

2850-520: The opinion of two of the three, except in cases where most of the ancient authorities were against them or in cases where there was already an accepted custom contrary to his ruling. The net result of these last exceptions is that in a number of cases Karo rules in favour of the Catalan school of Nahmanides and Shlomo ibn Aderet ("the Rashba"), thus indirectly reflecting Ashkenazi opinions, even against

2907-517: The principle that halakha must be decided according to the later sages; this principle is commonly known as hilkheta ke-vatra'ei ("the halakha follows the later ones"). A modern commentator, Menachem Elon explains: This rule dates from the Geonic period. It laid down the law and states that "until the time of Rabbis Abbaye and Rava (4th century) the Halakha was to be decided according to

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2964-631: The rulings of the Shulchan Aruch upon those communities following Rambam , Karo wrote: Who is he whose heart conspires to approach forcing congregations who practice according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to go by any one of the early or latter-day Torah authorities?! ... Is it not a case of a fortiori , that regarding the School of Shammai —that the halakhah does not go according to them—they [the Talmudic Sages] said 'if [one practices] like

3021-457: The same code of law .) Despite the above, a minhag does not override clear biblical or Talmudic enactments, and one may not transgress the latter for the sake of the former. In fact, any minhag that intrinsically involves an element of Halacha violation is considered null and void. The Talmud rules that a valid minhag accepted by previous generations of a family or community is binding upon all later generations. The Rosh states that

3078-546: The views of the earlier scholars, but from that time onward, the halakhic opinions of post-talmudic scholars would prevail over the contrary opinions of a previous generation" (see Piskei Ha'Rosh , Bava Metzia 3:10, 4:21, Shabbat 23:1 and also the Rif writing at the end of Eruvin Ch.2.) If one does not find their statements correct and is able to maintain his own views with evidence that is acceptable to his contemporaries...he may contradict

3135-532: The word for "walking path," means the path or road set for the journey, minhag "custom", from the word for driving, means the manner people have developed themselves to travel down that path more quickly. The present use of minhag for "custom" may have been influenced by the Arabic minhaj ; in current Islamic usage, this term is used for the intellectual methodology of a scholar or school of thought (cf. Hebrew: דֶּרֶךְ , romanized:  dereḵ ) rather than for

3192-544: The work, remarking that he had written it chiefly for "young students". He never refers to it in his responsa , but always to the Beit Yosef . The Shulchan Aruch achieved its reputation and popularity not only against the wishes of the author, but, perhaps, through the very scholars who criticized it. Recognition or denial of Karo's authority lay entirely with the Polish Talmudists. German Jewish authorities had been forced to give way to Polish ones as early as

3249-479: The works of Yaakov Moelin , Israel Isserlein and Israel Bruna , together with the Franco-German Tosafists ) as criteria of opinion. While the Rosh on many occasions based his decision on these sources, Isserles gave them more prominence in developing practical legal rulings. By incorporating these other opinions, Isserles actually addressed some major criticisms regarding what many viewed as

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