====== Halakha ======

**Halakha** (Hebrew: הֲלָכָה, also transliterated **halakhah** or **halacha**) is the collective body of Jewish religious law derived from the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, and subsequent rabbinic legislation and custom. The term is often rendered "Jewish law," though a more literal translation is "the way" or "the path one walks," from the Hebrew root meaning "to go." Halakha governs religious ritual, civil and criminal matters, and routines of daily conduct for observant Jews. The degree to which halakha is considered binding, and by what authority it is interpreted, varies across Jewish denominations and is addressed further on [[halakha-viewpoint-name-viewpoint|Viewpoint]] pages below.

===== Current State =====

Halakha is traditionally understood as deriving from the 613 biblical commandments (mitzvot), as elaborated through the Mishnah and the Talmud (collectively the Oral Torah), and later codified in works such as Maimonides' twelfth-century **Mishneh Torah** and the sixteenth-century **Shulchan Aruch** of Joseph Karo, with the glosses of Moses Isserles incorporating Ashkenazi practice. Halakhic reasoning proceeds through an ongoing process of legal interpretation, precedent, and rabbinic responsa (teshuvot) rather than through a single centralized judicial authority. Since the Sanhedrin ceased to function in its full capacity in 40 CE, no body or authority has been generally regarded as having the power to create universally recognized precedents, and the authoritative application of Jewish law today rests with local rabbis and rabbinical courts.

Because of this decentralization, different individuals and communities may arrive at different answers to halakhic questions, and controversies are often not resolved through any single authoritative structure. Minor variations in halakhic practice exist among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Yemenite, Ethiopian, and other Jewish communities that historically developed in relative isolation. The transmission and authority of the Oral Torah alongside the Written Torah is itself a long-standing point of internal debate, addressed further on [[halakha-oral-vs-written-torah-debate|Debate]]. In the State of Israel, certain areas of family and personal-status law for Jews fall under the jurisdiction of rabbinic courts applying halakha, while in most of the Jewish diaspora today adherence to halakha is a matter of voluntary religious observance rather than civil enforcement.

A fuller account of halakha's historical development, from the Second Temple period through the codification era, is provided on [[halakha-history]].

===== Viewpoints =====

Jewish denominations and individual authorities differ substantially on the binding force, flexibility, and proper interpretive method of halakha.

  * **Orthodox view**: holds that halakha is divinely commanded and fully binding, that the Oral Torah was transmitted at Sinai alongside the Written Torah, and that change occurs only through recognized halakhic processes rather than through accommodation to contemporary social norms. See [[halakha-orthodox-viewpoint]].
  * **Conservative/Masorti view**: regards halakha as binding but holds that it may develop progressively in response to changing historical and social conditions, exercised through bodies such as denominational law committees. See [[halakha-conservative-viewpoint]].
  * **Reform view**: treats halakha as a historically significant but non-binding tradition, emphasizing individual autonomy and ethical commandments over ritual observance. See [[halakha-reform-viewpoint]].
  * **Reconstructionist view**: approaches halakha as a valuable folkway and cultural inheritance rather than a divinely commanded legal system, to be engaged with democratically by the community. See [[halakha-reconstructionist-viewpoint]].
  * **Karaite view**: rejects the authority of the Oral Torah and rabbinic halakha generally, holding that Jewish law derives from the Written Torah alone, interpreted through its own independent exegetical tradition. See [[halakha-karaite-viewpoint]].
  * **Secular/academic-critical view**: studies halakha as a historically developing legal and literary system shaped by social, political, and cross-cultural influences (including parallels with Islamic fiqh), without taking a position on its divine origin or binding force. See [[halakha-academic-viewpoint]].

===== Controversies =====

  * The applicability of halakhic principles to scientific questions, including premodern and modern rabbinic engagement with heliocentrism and cosmology, has been a documented point of dispute among authorities. See [[halakha-heliocentrism-controversy]].
  * The extent to which Conservative Judaism's halakhic committees may revise traditional rulings-for example on matters of personal status and ritual practice-has been a recurring institutional controversy within that movement. See [[halakha-conservative-revision-controversy]].
  * Disputes over rabbinic court authority, particularly regarding conversion, marriage, and personal status in Israel, constitute an ongoing legal and political controversy. See [[halakha-israel-rabbinic-courts-controversy]].

===== Related Pages =====

  * [[halakha-history]] - History
  * [[halakha-oral-vs-written-torah-debate]] - Debate
  * [[halakha-orthodox-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-conservative-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-reform-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-reconstructionist-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-karaite-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-academic-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint
  * [[halakha-orthodox-vs-reform-viewpoint-debate]] - Viewpoint Debate
  * [[halakha-heliocentrism-controversy]] - Controversy
  * [[halakha-israel-rabbinic-courts-controversy]] - Controversy
  * [[talmud]] - Main Topic
  * [[heliocentrism-jewish-viewpoint]] - Viewpoint

===== Footnotes =====

  - "Halakha," Wikipedia, accessed June 26, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha.
  - "Halakhah: Jewish Law," Judaism 101, accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.jewfaq.org/jewish_law.
  - Menachem Posner, "What Is Halakhah (Halachah)? Jewish Law," Chabad.org, accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4165687/jewish/What-Is-Halakhah-Halachah-Jewish-Law.htm.
  - "Halakhah: The Laws of Jewish Life," My Jewish Learning, accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/halakhah-the-laws-of-jewish-life/.
  - "Halakha Law," ScienceDirect Topics, citing *International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences* (2001), accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/halakha-law.
  - "Halakha," New World Encyclopedia, accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Halakha.
  - "Halakhah," Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed June 26, 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halakhah.
  - "Halakhah," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed June 26, 2026, https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/halakhah.
  - "Halakhah: Jewish Law," Mechon Mamre, Torah 101, accessed June 26, 2026, https://mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/halakhah.htm.