Halakhah Study Group 001

I have included Hebrew texts in this shiur because I think that in the case of some quotations this would be helpful. I am aware that not everyone has Hebrew fonts (but nowadays they are easy enough to install), though, of course, the shiurim are also be completely readable without the Hebrew. If you find the presence of the Hebrew really irksome please send a message to me at admin@bmv.org.il. If a lot of people complain I shall remove the Hebrew in future.

A few paragraphs have already been posted in the BMV web site. To begin with I shall reproduce them to enable participants to send in comments and queries concerning this material. I expect to be posting about one shiur each week in this study group.

1:
Let us preface a short introduction to the Shulĥan Arukh, שולחן ערוך, a term which designates a 'Prepared Table'. The term is meant to convey the idea that all the rules and regulations are laid out for the reader like a table prepared for a feast on which the diners will find everything set out ready
for their gastronomic pleasure. The Shulĥan Arukh is a halakhic compendium which was compiled by
Rabbi Yosef Karo, [1488-1575] and published in 1565. It is, in fact, an abridgement of a much larger work which he had written, a commentary on the Tur, טור, called Bet Yosef, בית יוסף.

2:
The first famous attempt at such a compilation had been made some 400 years previously by Rabbi Yitzĥak
Alfasi [1013-1103], whose sobriquet is Rif, רי"ף. About 100 years later a comprehensive halakhic compendium was created by Rabbi Moses Maimonides [1135-1204]; his sobriquet is Rambam, רמב"ם. This compendium was called Mishneh Torah, משנה תורה. And then more than a century later yet another halakhic compendium was compiled by Rabbi Ya'akov ben-Asher [1270-1343], whose sobriquet is the same as his most famous work. It was this compendium, called the Tur, that was the basis for Karo's commentary, Bet Yosef, mentioned above.

Name of Sage	Sobriquet and Date	Book
Yitzĥak Alfasi Moshé ben-Maimon Asher ben-Yeĥi'el Ya'akov ben-Asher Yosef Karo Moshé Isserles	Rif (1013-1103) Rambam (1135-1204) Rosh (1250-1327) Tur (1270-1343) Meĥabber (1488-1575) Rema (1525-1572)	Hilkhot ha-Rif Mishneh Torah Rosh Tur Shulĥan Arukh Glosses

3:
The Hebrew word Tur means 'row', and the full name of the compilation is Arba'ah Turim, ארבעה טורים, The Four Rows. The term 'Four Rows' comes from the Torah [Exodus 28:17] where it refers to the four rows of precious stones set into the ceremonial breatsplate of the High Priest. In connection with the Tur it refers to the four sections into which the author divided his compendium:

• Oraĥ Ĥayyim, אורח חיים, which deals with regular ritual obligations such as daily prayer, mealtimes, Shabbat, YomTov etc;
• Yoreh De'ah, יורה דעה, which deals with matters such as kashrut and many more;
• Even ha-Ezer, אבן העזר, which deals with matrimonial law; and
• Ĥoshen Mishpat, חושן משפט, which deals with jurisprudential procedure.

Each "Tur" is divided into sections, סימנים. In his Shulĥan Arukh Karo adopted the division into those same four parts and into those same sections. He further subdivided each section into paragraphs, סעיפים.

4:
The topic that is the subject of our present study starts with the plain statement that the Torah is to be read publicly (apart from Shabbat morning, which is a separate issue) three times every week: on Mondays and Thursdays at the morning service and on Shabbat afternoons. There is a verse in the Torah [Exodus 15:22] which reads as follows:

On this verse the Gemara, גמרא, [Bava Kamma 82a] comments as follows:

5:
Rambam, in his compendium Mishneh Torah [Tefillah 12:1] attributes the institution of Torah
Reading on Mondays and Thursdays to Moses and on Shabbat afternoon to Ezra, and he also attributes to
Ezra the institution that three people should be called to read from the Torah on these occasions. He is
basing himself on the Mishnah [Megillah 4:1] which is the halakhic source not only for this custom
but also for the requirement that exactly three people should be called to read. The Gemara [Megillah
21b] on this mishnah suggests reasons for the number three:

The Amora, אמורא, Rav Assi is from Eretz-Israel whereas Rava is a Babylonian Amora. Possibly each is offering the explanation that was current in their respective countries of residence. The former sage seems to be suggesting that the three persons called to the Torah represent the totality of our sacred
scriptures, while the latter sage seems to be suggesting that they represent the totality of the Jewish people.

6:
The Haftarah, הפטרה, is a reading from the second of the three sections of the Hebrew Bible, the prophets. We shall learn about the Haftarah at a later stage in our study, when we reach section 144.

7:
After the statement of the rule by Karo comes the word 'note' (in Hebrew הגה). When Karo was planning his Shulĥan Arukh he adopted a certain modus operandi. Since there were differing decisions made by his predecessors, Karo decided that on any given halakhic issue he would consult the decisions of Rif, Rambam and Rabbi Asher ben-Yeĥi'el, אשר בן יחיאל, whose sobriquet is Rosh, רא"ש. Rosh was the father of the Tur. Where the three authorities all agreed that was the halakhah as Karo would codify it; where they differed he would accept the decision of any two of the three. While this arrangement seems eminently fair it did result in the Shulĥan Arukh displaying a distinct bias for Sefaradi practice, since both Rif and Rambam reflected Sefaradi practice while only Rosh reflected Ashkenazi practice. This unintenional bias was the cause for much of the distrust with which the publication of the Shulĥan Arukh was greeted. Rabbi Moshé Isserles [1525-1572] much admired Karo and he compiled comprehensive 'notes' that could be added to the text of the Shulĥan Arukh and which would reflect Ashkenazi practice where it differed from Sefaradi practice. (We note, by way of illustration, that in our present paragraph his extensive note is referenced to the 'Mordechai' and to 'Hagahot Maimoniyyot', both of which are products of the Ashkenazi world.)

8:
The general rule (as we shall see much later on when we reach section 282) is that on Shabbat seven
people are called to the Torah reading, On Yom Kippur six, on other Torah festivals five, On Rosh Ĥodesh
four, and on all other days (including Ĥanukah and Purim) three. It is not agreed among the
פוסקים decisors [poskim] whether it is permissable or not to add to these numbers. What Isserles is saying is that when there are two private festivals among the worshippers, such as a
circumcision and a wedding, or two circumcisions or two weddings, it is permissable to add a fourth person to be called to the Torah reading on a day when there are usually only three (Monday and Thursday mornings and Shabbat afternoon).