The Study of halakhah in the rabbinic period and beyond it became the supreme religious duty. Because of it’s difficult subject matter and it’s importance for practical Judaism this study took precedence over that of any other aspect of Jewish teaching. Typical is the rabbinic saying that after the destruction of the temple, God has nothing else in His world than the four cubits noun — an ancient measure of length, approximately equal to the length of a forearm. It was typically about 18 inches or 44 cm, though there was a long cubit of about 21 inches or 52 cm. — ORIGIN Middle English : from Latin cubitum ‘elbow, forearm, cubit’. of the halakhic study over aggadic was expressed in the parable of the two merchants, one selling precious stones, the other small ware. Only the connoisseur comes to buy from the former (Sot. 40A).
The general assumption in the classical Jewish sources is that the halakhah in it’s entirety goes back to Moses, except for various later elaborations, extensions, applications, and innovations in accordance with new circumstances.
This Maimonide (yad, intro) counts 40 generations backward from R. AShi, the traditional editor of the Babylonian Talmud, to Moses and he concludes: “In and the Tosefta, the Sifra and the Sifrei, in all these are explained the forbidden, the clean and the unclean, the liabilities and lack of liability, the unfit and fit, as handed down from person to person from the mouth of Moses our teacher at Sinai.” But the verdict of modern scholarship is that the halakhah has had a history and that it is possible to trace the stages in it’s development with a considerable degree of success.
The word “halakhah” (from the root halakh “to go”), the legal side of Judaism (as distinct from aggadah, the name given to the non-legal material, particularly of the rabbinic literature) embraces personal, social, national, and observances of Judaism.
In the Bible the good life is frequently spoken of as a way in which men are “to go” e.g. “and will show them the way wherein they are to go and the work they must do.” (Ex 18:20).
Originally the term halakhah (pl. halakhot) had the meaning of law or decision in a given instance, as in the frequent expression “this is a law given to Moses on Sinai” (Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai). This usage persisted, but side by side with it there developed the use of halakhah as a generic term for the whole legal system of Judaism, embracing all the detailed laws and observances. For instance, the Talmud (Shab. 138b) comments on “the word of the Lord” (Amos 8:12) that this means halakhah.
Rituals – My Study Bible
- Proselytes (law of conversion)From The Encylopaedia Judacia 13:1183-1184 The procedure, established by the tannaim, according to which a non-Jew may be into the Jewish faith, was elucided as follows: “in our days, when a proselyte came to be converted we say to him: ‘What is your objective? Is it not known to you that the people of Israel […]
- NaziriteFrom The Encylopaedia Judacia A person who vows for a specific period to abstain from partaking of grapes or any of it’s products whether intoxicating or not, cutting his hair, and touching a corpse (6:3-9)Such a person is called a Nazirite (HEBREW nazir) from the root nzr meaning to separate or dedicate oneself (eg. , […]
- MikvehA collection of water A pool or bath of clear water, immersion in which renders ritually clean a person who become ritually unclean through contact with the dead (Num. 19) or any other defiling object or through an unclean flux from the body (Lev. 15) and especially a menstruant. It is similarly used for vessels […]
- Niddah“Menstrous Woman” According to Jewish law, a woman is forbidden to maintain sexual relations with her husband during and for sometimes both before and after her menses.
- Water of PurifyingWater mixed with the ashes of the red hefer See also Purity in Second Temple Times, and Ablution
- Purity in Second Temple TimesThis array of vessels from Jerusalem provides evidence of the stone-craving industry that flourished in the city at the end of the Second Temple Period (form the first century B.C.E. until the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.). Highly skilled artisans carved this collection, which includes small household mugs (foreground), a wine jar (left […]
- Womens “Place”Jewish Alternative in Love, Dating and Marriage by Pinchas Stolper Page 77-78 98% of the first book of Genesis, is devoted to narratives describing the creation of the world, the beginnings of mankind, and mankind, and Abraham, Isaac. Jacob and the Tribes of Israel. The reason Genesis dwells on biography, personalities, events and not laws […]
- CircumcisionFrom When A Jew Celebrates Pages 20 -22 On the eighth day after birth, Jewish boys are circumcised. According to the Torah, this ceremony began with Abraham. Jews made circumcision a special mitzvah, a commandment. Just as Jews took ancient harvest festivals and gave them special religious meaning, so they changed the ancient custom of […]
- The Miracle Of BirthFrom When A Jew Celebrates The Talmud teaches: Many coins are stamped from the same mold, and every coin is exactly the same. But God has stamped many people from the same mold ( the mold of Eve And Adam), yet not one person is like another. Therefore, one must say, “for my sake was […]
- Marriage (Hasdic View)The Hasdic Anthology page 24 Rabbi Isaiah Kalman Halberstadt said: “We read in the Talmud (Taanith 30b): Said Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel: ‘There were no holidays in Israel Like Yom Kippur and the Fifteenth of Ab.’ On the latter day (Midsummer Day) the maidens were privileged to ask young men in marriage. They would arrange […]
- The WeddingA wedding celebration is considered a sacred time in Jewish culture, enriched with deep tradition and meaning. During the Torah reading, the groom is respectfully called up to the Bimah, surrounded by the wholehearted love and support of his community. This time-honored ceremony links us to our history and showcases our bright future brimming with […]
- First BornFrom When a Jew Celebrates Redeeming the firstborn is another traditional ceremony marked for some babies – firstborn sons. (This refers only to the firstborn of the mother; the father might have other sons if he was previously married.) This ceremony goes back to the Torah (/ˈtɔːrə, ˈtoʊrə/; Biblical Hebrew: תּוֹרָה Tōrā, “Instruction”, “Teaching” […]
- Ablution (Immersion)From the Encyclopedia Judaica 2:81-82 Ritual immersion, or ablution, carries great symbolic significance in Judaism, representing a transformation from a state of impurity to a state of purity. This act has the power to restore an individual’s ability to perform certain functions and participate in specific rites. While it may seem like a purely hygienic […]
4 Responses