'''Halakha''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: הלכה; also [[Hebrew transliteration|transliterated]] as ''Halakhah'', ''Halacha'', ''Halakhot'' and ''Halachah'') is the collective corpus of [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[religious law]], including biblical law (the [[613 mitzvot|613 ''mitzvot'']]) and later [[talmud]]ic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. Like the religious laws in many other cultures, Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and non-religious life. Hence, Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but numerous aspects of day-to-day life.
Historically, Halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of civil and religious law. In the modern era, Jewish citizens may be bound to Halakhah only by their voluntary consent. In Israel, though, certain areas of Israeli family and personal status law are governed by the rabbinic interpretations of Halakhacourts. Reflecting the diversity of Jewish communities, somewhat different approaches to Halakha are found among [[Ashkenazi]], [[Mizrahi]], and [[Sefardi]] Jews. Among Ashkenazi Jews, disagreements over Halakha have played a pivotal role in the emergence of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] streams of Judaism, whilst on the whole, Sefardi Jews have kept closer to tradition.
