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Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim: Encyclopedia - Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim (ארבעה טורים, Hebrew: "Four columns" - on the High Priest's breastplate), also abbreviated as Tur, is an important work of Jewish law, composed by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (Spain, 1270 -c.1340; also referred to as "Ba'al ha-Turim", "Master of the Tur"). "The Tur" is composed in four divisions ("Arba'ah Turim"); these are further organised by topic, by section (siman, pl. simanim) and by law (se'if, pl. se'ifim). The Arba'ah Turim: Orach ...

Arba'ah Turim, 613 mitzvot

Arba'ah Turim: Encyclopedia - Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim (ארבעה טורים, Hebrew: "Four columns" - on the High Priest's breastplate), also abbreviated as Tur, is an important work of Jewish law, composed by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (Spain, 1270 -c.1340; also referred to as "Ba'al ha-Turim", "Master of the Tur"). "The Tur" is composed in four divisions ("Arba'ah Turim"); these are further organised by topic, by section (siman, pl. simanim) and by law (se'if, pl. se'ifim).

The Arba'ah Turim:

Orach Chayim - laws of prayer and synagogue, Sabbath, holidays
Yoreh De'ah - laws of shechita, kashrut
Even HaEzer - laws of marriage, divorce
Choshen Mishpat - laws of finance, financial responsibility, damages (personal and financial), interest

In "the Tur", Ben Asher traces the practical Jewish law from the Torah text and the dicta of the Talmud through the Rishonim. He used the code of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi as his starting point; these views are then compared to those of Maimonides, as well as to the Ashkenazi traditions, contained in the Tosafist literature. Unlike Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Tur is not limited to normative positions, but compares the various opinions on any disputed point. (In most instances of debate, Rabbi Jacob follows the opinion of his father, Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel, the Rosh.) Arba'ah Turim also differs with the Mishneh Torah, in that, unlike Maimonides work, it deals only with areas of Jewish law that are applicable in the Jewish exile.

Commentaries on Arba'ah Turim include Beth Yosef by Rabbi Joseph Karo, Bayit Chadash by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis, Darkhei Moshe by Moses Isserles, Beit Yisrael by Joshua Falk, as well as works by a number of other Acharonim.

The Tur continues to play an important role in Halakha. Joseph Karo's Shulkhan Arukh, the fundamental work of Halakha, is a condensation of his Beth Joseph and follows the basic structure of the Arba'ah Turim, including its division in four sections and chapters - Tur's structure down to the siman is retained in the Shulkhan Arukh. Students of the Shulkan Arukh, particularly in Orthodox Semicha programs, will study the Tur and the Beth Joseph, together with the Shulkhan Arukh itself.