The name ''Halakha'' derives from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''halach''' '''הלך''' meaning "going" or hence the "[correct] way"; thus a literal translation does not yield "law", rather "the way to goaccording to the law." The term Halakha may refer to a single rule, to the literary corpus of rabbinic legal texts, as well as to the overall system of religious law.
The ''Halakha'' is often contrasted with the ''[[Aggadah]]'', the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical, narrative, philosophical and other "non-legal" literatures. At the same time, since writers of ''Halakha'' may draw upon the aggada literature, there is a dynamic interchange between the two genres.
Halakha constitutes the practical application of the 613 [[613 mitzvot|mitzvot]] ("commandments") (singular: [[mitzvah]]) in the [[Torah]], (the five books of [[Moses]], the "Written Law") as developed through discussion and debate in the classical [[rabbinic literature]], especially the [[Mishnah]] and the [[Talmud]] (the "[[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]") and codified by Maimonides in the MISHNE TORAH and later in the [[Shulkhan Arukh]] (the Jewish "Code of Law") which is the complilation of laws restrictively applicable in "our times".)
==Scope==
For the believing Jew, to live in accordance with Halakha is to respond to its magisterially commanding Law-Giver. By bringing the Divine will-- as understood and explicated by "hakhmei ha-masorah" (the ordained Sages, of the Sanhedrin who are the bearers of the tradition)-- to bear on the whole of his existence, the Jew sanctifies and enriches itis sanctified.
The Halakha is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of human life, both corporeal and spiritual. Its laws, guidelines, and opinions cover a vast range of situations and principles, in the attempt to realize what is implied by the central Biblical commandment to "be holy as I your God am holy". They cover what are better ways for a Jew to live, when commandments conflict how one may choose correctly, what is implicit and understood but not stated explicitly in the BibleTorah, and what has been deduced by rules of exegis and implication , though not visible explicit on the surface.
Halakha is shaped and contested defined by a variety of rabbis (rabbinic authorities, and other Jews), rather than since we do not have today one sole "official voice", so different individuals and communities may well have different answers to Halakhic questions. Controversies lend rabbinic literature much of its creative and intellectual appeal. With few exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because Judaism lacks a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for Halakha. Instead, Jews interested in observing Halakha may choose to follow specific rabbis schools, or affiliate with a more tightly-structured community.
Halakha has been developed and pored over throughout the generations since before 500 BCE, in a constantly expanding collection of [[Rabbinic literature|religious literature]] consolidated in the [[Talmud]]. First and foremost it forms a body of intricate judicial opinions, legislation, customs, and recommendations, many of them passed down over the centuries, and an assortment of ingrained behaviors, relayed to successive generations from the moment a child begins to speak. It is also the subject of intense study in ''[[yeshiva]]s''; see [[Torah study]].
==Laws of the Torah==
*''Cheth'' -- an "unintentional sin".
Judaism holds that no human being is Human beings are not perfect, and all people have sinned many times. However a state of sin does not condemn a person to damnation; there is always do commit transgressions, so the Law-Giver offers a road of ''[[teshuva]]'' (repentance, literally: "return"). But, warn the effect of repentance depends on the severity of the transgression and the the Rabbiswarn that for some persons, there are some classes of person for whom this is exceedingly difficult, such as the one who slanders another.
In earlier days, when Jews had a functioning court system (the [[beth din]] and the [[Sanhedrin]] high court), courts were empowered to administer physical punishments for various violations, upon conviction by far stricter standards of evidence than are acceptable in American courts: [[corporal punishment (Judaism)|corporal punishment]], [[incarceration]], [[excommunication]]. Since the fall of the Temple, executions have been forbiddenare not applied. Since the fall of the autonomous Jewish communities of [[Europe]], the other punishments , such as lashes, have also fallen by the wayside. Today, then, one's accounts are reckoned solely by [[God]].
===Gentiles and Jewish law===
All denominations of Jews hold that [[gentile]]s are not obliged bound by Covenant to follow observe the Halakha; only Jews are obliged do so. Judaism has always held that gentiles are obliged only to follow Gentiles were given the seven [[Noahide Laws]]; these are laws that the commandments expounded by oral law derives from the covenant Covenant God made with [[Noah]] after the flood, which apply to all descendants of Noah (all living peoplemankind). The Noahide laws are derived listed and explained in the [[Talmud]] (Tractate Sanhedrin 57aff), and are listed here:
#[[Murder]] is forbidden.
#[[Theft]] is forbidden.
#[[Religion and sexuality|certain Sexual relations/immorality]] is - are forbidden.
#Eating flesh cut from a still-living animal is forbidden.
#Belief in, and/or prayer to "[[idolatry|idols]]" ([[cult image]]s) is forbidden.
#[[Blasphemy|Blaspheming]] against God is forbidden. #Society must establish a fair system of legal [[justice]] to administer judge transgressions of these [[law]]s honestlyand punish the one found guilty.
Although not mentioning the [[Noahide Laws]] directly by name, the Christian convention of Apostles and elders in Jerusalem mentioned in [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 15 appears to validate the idea that all gentiles follow the constraints established by the covenant of Noah. Supporting this idea, the mentions a list of constraints to be applied to the gentiles that are converted to Christianity, verse 15:20, which is similar although not identical to the Noahide laws.
==The sources and process of Halakha==
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==
* The ''Hilchot'' of ''the Rif'', Rabbi [[Isaac Alfasi]] (1013 - 1103), summations of the legal material in the Talmud. Alfasi transcribed the Talmud's halakhic conclusions verbatim, without the surrounding deliberation; he also excludes all [[Aggadah|Aggadic]] (non-legal, homiletic) matter. The ''Hilchot'' has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud.
* The [[Mishneh Torah]] (also known as the ''Yad Ha-Hazaqah''), by [[Maimonides]] (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the [[Rambam]]; 1135 - 1204). The 14 volumes in this work encompass the full range of Jewish law, as formulated for all ages and places. It completely compiles and reorganizes and reformulates all the laws Talmudic decisions in a logical system. It opens with a section on systematic philosophical theology, derived largely from [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] science and metaphysics, entitled "The Foundations of the Torah" which it regards as outlines the most important component basic tenet of the Jewish lawfaith and a brief survey of Judaism's metaphysical system.
* The work of ''the Rosh'', Rabbi [[Asher ben Jehiel]] (1250?/1259?-1328), an abstract of the Talmud, concisely stating the final Halakhic decision and quoting later authorities, notably Alfasi, Maimonides, and the [[Tosafists]]. This work superseded Rabbi Alfasi's and has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud.
==See also==
* [[Mishpat Ivri]]
The State of Israel has a secular law and constitution adopted from the Ottoman and British rule in the land. Efforts are made by religious legislators to adopt into the state laws, rulings based on the Jewish law, called "Mishpat Ivri".
== External links and references==
*[[Joel Roth]], ''Halakhic Process: A Systemic Analysis'', Jewish Theological Seminary. ISBN 0873340353
*[[Joseph Soloveitchik]], ''Halakhic Man'', Jewish Publication Society trans. Lawrence Kaplan. ISBN 0827603975
[[es:Halajá]]
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