| Orthodox Conversion to Judaism |
| The Shulchan Aruch |
| After the Talmudic epoch, interpretation of Jewish Law was one of the chief occupations of the Geonim (Excellencies), who headed the Sura and Pumbeditha Academies, from the end of the sixth century to the beginning of the eleventh. They won renown for their knowledge and scholarship, and sent written replies to questions they received from all parts of the world. Many of these were preserved and they became known as Responsa. Later Rabbinical authorites continued the practice, and many Responsa were published in book form. The need to collect the final decisions into one authoritative code was obvious, and a number of such collections were produced by the Geonim and other authorities. Outstanding among them are the Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch. The Mishneh Torah - 'The Second Law,' was compiled by Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), the famous Rabbi and philosopher, who spent most of his life in Cairo. Divided in fourteen books, it is a masterly work covering the whole field of Jewish Law. It is also known as the 'Strong Hand' - the numerical value of the letter of the Hebrew word for hand 'Yad' is fourteen. The Shulchan Aruch - The 'Table Arranged,' was completed by Joseph Caro (1488-1575) in Safed. It is dicided into four parts: 1) The Path of Life: this deals with such everday duties as Divine Worship, the Shabbat, Festivals and Fasts. 2) Teacher of Knowledge: among the subjects are Shechitah, Dietary Laws, mourning; ethical duties including respect for parent and teacher; charity, the Sefer Torah and Mezuzah. 3) Stone of Help: treating all of aspects of Marriage. 4) Breastplate of Judgment: on civil law. This monumental work, together with the later annotations of Moses Isserles (1530-1572), a famous Polish Rabbi, has remained the standart authority for all Jewish Law and Practice. |
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