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HALAKAH*
Overall term for Jewish law. Halakah, which means literally “walking,” gives the authoritative Jewish way of life as contained in the Mishnah. It shows Jews how they are to walk (i.e., live life) and what they must do (see Ex 18:20).
First of all, Halakah rests upon the biblical laws and commandments found in the written Law (the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible) and the oral law (according to Jewish tradition, the unwritten law supposedly given to Moses on Mt Sinai and passed down through generations, finally to be recorded in the Talmud). In the Pentateuch, then, Halakah is given as law; for example, we are told not to work on the Sabbath. But what, in this context, does “work” mean? The written Law gives us no help, but in the Talmud we have Halakah, which is interpretation of the written Law, and in the Talmud we learn what “work” means.
Second, Halakah rests upon all the rabbinic legislation and decisions handed down through the ages by great Jewish scholars. All these things, taken together, provide the basis for making religious-legal decisions in the orthodox Jewish community. All these things, the written and oral law plus the history of Jewish legal scholarship, provide us with Halakah.
Halakah is intended to be all-encompassing, to handle every situation in life. One’s eating habits, sex life, business ethics, social activities, entertainment—these and much more are dealt with by Halakah. For this reason it has been called “the Jewish way”; it is the Jewish legal and practical guide to living.