The root of the Hebrew term used to refer to Jewish law, halakhah, means "go" or
"walk." Halakhah, then, is
the "way" a Jew is directed to behave in every aspect of life,
encompassing civil, criminal, and religious law.
The foundation of Judaism is the
Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes referred to as “the
Five Books of Moses”). "Torah"
means "instruction" or "teaching," and like all teaching it
requires interpretation and application. Jewish tradition teaches that Moses
received the Torah from God at Mount Sinai. The Torah is replete with
instructions, directives, statutes, laws, and rules. Most are directed to the
Israelites, some to all humanity.
The words of the Torah
constitute what the rabbinic tradition calls the Written Torah. However,
beginning around 400 BCE, teachings emerged based in or connected to the Torah,
but not literally evident in the text. This body of teaching is known as the
Oral Torah, and rabbinic sources claim that it, too, was revealed at Sinai.
Halakhah per se begins with this "Oral Torah."
Some laws in the Torah required
procedures for their observance that were not explicit. Sometimes conditions
under which Jews were living were so different from earlier periods that the
ancient rabbis simply enacted new rules in keeping with the laws of the Torah.
This process of developing, interpreting, modifying and enacting rules of
conduct is the how halakhah develops. The rabbis of classical talmudic Judaism
developed a system of hermeneutic principles by which to interpret the words of
the written Torah.
As rabbinic teachings increased,
it was necessary to commit them to writing, lest they be forgotten. Around the
year 200 CE, the Mishnah, the earliest compendium of Jewish law, appeared. It
became the curriculum of rabbinic instruction. In approximately 425 CE, the
interpretive traditions of the rabbis of the Land of Israel were compiled,
forming the "Talmud Yerushalmi" (Palestinian Talmud).
Another Talmud, the
"Bavli" (Babylonian Talmud), was compiled in the Persian Empire a
century later. It presents digests of the various teachings of many generations
of rabbis on issues of law and other subjects. Although it frequently fails to
specify which cited opinion is authoritative, it nevertheless became the
universally accepted arbiter of halakhah and the subject of many extensive
commentaries.
In every age, outstanding Jewish
teachers and thinkers emerged who became the rabbinic leaders of their
communities. Individuals, including other rabbis, would send them questions
about the proper observance of Judaism or matters of Jewish thought. This body
of questions and responses (teshuvot,
or responsa), preserved through the ages, is also an important source of
halakhah.
In the Middle Ages, the body of
Jewish legal writing was so voluminous that great scholarly acumen was required
to be able to determine exactly what the halakhah was on many points. Compendia
of Jewish law were written to summarize the debate and render a decision. One
of the most complete and influential of these, Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, was compiled in the 11th century. The
sixteenth-century Sephardic rabbi Joseph Caro developed a handbook of halakhah,
the Shulchan Arukh ("Prepared
Table"). Supplemented by the comments of Rabbi Moses Isserles, the leading
Polish rabbi of the time, the Shulchan
Arukh became the worldwide standard of halakhah, authoritative (even if not
the final authority) even now in the eyes of observant Jews everywhere.
Historically, in Jewish law, a
majority view prevailed. While the majority opinion usually became the accepted
practice, in certain circumstances later rabbis could rely on a minority view
in deciding a difficult matter. By the high Middle Ages, most Jewish
communities each recognized one rabbi as the arbiter of Jewish law in that
community.
This system collapsed with the
onset of modernity in the 18th century, particularly in western Europe. Rabbis
emerged who wanted to "reform" Judaism. They rejected both some of
the teachings and the authority of earlier rabbis in many matters of halakhah.
Today, spiritual descendants of
both traditionalists and reformers interpret Jewish law according to their
respective principles for their communities. Many Jews reject the notion of
Jewish law as binding, regarding halakhah as spiritual guidance for Jewish
living. The approach to halakhah is the central factor differentiating Jewish
religious movements today. Secular Israeli jurisprudence treats halakhah as a
valid and valued source of precedent.
