The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through 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:
* The foundational Talmudic literature (especially the [[Mishna]] and the [[Talmud|Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud]]) with commentaries;
* The post-Talmudic [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|codificatory literature]], such as Maimonides' [[Mishneh Torah]] and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] with commentaries;
* Regulations and other "legislative" enactments promulgated by rabbis and communal bodies:
* ''[[Minhag]]'': Customs, community practices, and customary law, as well as the exemplary deeds of prominent (or local) rabbis;
* The ''[[responsa|she'eloth u-teshuvoth]]'' (responsa, literally "questions and answers") literature.
* ''Dina d'malchuta dina'' ("the law of the land is law"): an additional source of Halakha, being the principle recognizing non-Jewish laws and non-Jewish legal jurisdiction as binding on Jewish citizens, especially for many in areas of commercial, civil and criminal law, provided that they are not contrary to any laws of Judaism.
Unlike Anglo-American common law, though, Halakhah does not rely on a strict theory of binding precedent nor provide for systematic review of precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-reviewed. When a rabbinic ''[[posek]]'' ("decisor") proposes a ruling concerning a new interpretation of a lawsituation, that interpretation ruling 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 rabbis and members of similar Jewish communities.
Under this system, there 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 to not overrule a specific law from an earlier era, unless based on an earlier authority. On the other hand, another principle recognizes the responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the ''posek'' handling a concurrent question. In addition, the Halakha embodies a wide range of principles that permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem). Generally speaking, a rabbi in any one period will not overrule specific laws from an earlier era, unless supported by a relevant earlier precedent; see list below. There are important exceptions to this principle, which empower the ''[[posek]]'' (decisor) or ''[[beth din]]'' (court) responsible for a given opinion.
There is no formal peer-review process for the entire Jewish community in general, since the Jewish community has no one central body that speaks for all of Judaism. However, within certain Jewish communities formal organized bodies exist: Each division or dynasty of Orthodox [[Hasidic Judaism]] has their own [[rebbe]], who is their ultimate decisor of Jewish law. Within [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]], there is no one committee or leader, but Modern 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]].
In antiquity, the ''[[Sanhedrin]]'' functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature for Judaism, and had the power empowered by their ordination to create and administer binding law on all Jews for all times - rulings of the Sanhedrin became Halakha; see [[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]. That court ceased to function in its full mode in [[40|CE 40]]. TodayUntil today, the application of Jewish law is bound by the Supreme Court's decisions, and amendments are left to the local rabbi, and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability.
===Eras of history important in Jewish law===
===The thirteen rules by which Jewish law was derived===
During the time The Oral Law which is an integral part of the Mishnah, some principles of the oral law were said to be Torah received at Sinai is derived from the written Written Law - both being the [[Torah]] - by virtue the application of one or more of the following methods rules of interpretation("Introduction to ''Sifra''" by [[Ishmael ben Elisha]], c. 200 CE):
#''Kal va-Chomer'' ([[List of Latin phrases (A–E)#A|a fortiori]]): We find a similar stringency in a more lenient case; how more so should that stringency apply to our stricter case!
#A matter that is inferred from its context, and a matter that is inferred from its ending.
#The resolution of two Scriptures that contradict each other [must wait] until a third Scripture arrives and resolves their apparent contradiction.
Scholars have noted the similarity between these rabbinic rules of interpretation and the hermeneutics of ancient Hellenistic culture.
==How Halakha is viewed today==
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