It was for this reason that Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch did not become established as the authoritative code of Jewish law until after Moshe Isserlis added his commentary, which documented variations in local custom.

Since the transcription of the Talmud, notable rabbis have compiled law codes that are generally held in high regard: the Mishneh Torah, the Tur, and the Shulchan Aruch.

Halakha constitutes the practical application of the 613 mitzvot (" commandments ", singular: mitzvah ) in the Torah, ( the five books of Moses, the " Written Law ") as developed through discussion and debate in the classical rabbinic literature, especially the Mishnah and the Talmud ( the " Oral law "), and as codified in the Mishneh Torah or Shulchan Aruch ( the Jewish " Code of Law ".

Besides the basic categories applied to the mitzvot in antiquity, during the medieval period Jewish law was classified by such works as Maimonides ' Mishneh Torah and Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch.

The codification efforts that culminated in the Shulchan Aruch divide the law into four sections, including only laws that do not depend on being in the Land of Israel.

* The post-Talmudic codificatory literature, such as Maimonides ' Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch with commentaries ;

* The Rishonim ( literally the " firsts ") are the rabbis of the late medieval period ( circa 1000 – 1500 ) preceding the Shulchan Aruch

The most widely accepted codes of Jewish law are known as Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch.

* The Beit Yosef, and the Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Yosef Karo ( 1488 – 1575 ).

The Shulchan Aruch is, in turn, a condensation of the Beit Yosef — stating each ruling simply ( literally translated, Shulchan Aruch means " set table "); this work follows the chapter divisions of the Tur.

The Shulchan Aruch, together with its related commentaries, is considered by many to be the most authoritative compilation of halakha since the Talmud.

In writing the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Karo based his rulings on three authorities — Maimonides ( Rambam ), Asher ben Jehiel ( Rosh ), and Isaac Alfasi ( Rif ); he considered the Mordechai in inconclusive cases.

Sephardic Jews, generally, refer to the Shulchan Aruch as the basis for their daily practice.

Rema noted that the Shulchan Aruch was based on the Sephardic tradition, and he created a series of glosses to be appended to the text of the Shulkhan Aruch for cases where Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs differed ( based on the works of Yaakov Moelin, Israel Isserlein and Israel Bruna ).

His comments are now incorporated into the body of all printed editions of the Shulchan Aruch, typeset in a different script ; today, " Shulchan Aruch " refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles.

A ten volume work, five discussing Halakha at a level " midway between the two extremes: the lengthy Beit Yosef of Caro on the one hand, and on the other Caro's Shulchan Aruch together with the Mappah of Isserles, which is too brief ", that particularly stresses the customs and practices of the Jews of Eastern Europe.

* The Shulchan Aruch HaRav of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( c. 1800 ) was an attempt to recodify the law as it stood at that time — incorporating commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, and subsequent responsa — and thus stating the decided halakha, as well as the underlying reasoning.

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried ( Hungary 1804 – 1886 ), based on the very strict Hungarian customs of the 19th century, became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity.

For guidance in practical application of Jewish law, the majority of Orthodox Jews appeal to the Shulchan Aruch (" Code of Jewish Law " composed in the 16th century by Rabbi Joseph Caro ) together with its surrounding commentaries.

They study sections of the Shulchan Aruch ( codified Jewish law ) and its main commentaries that pertain to daily-life questions ( such as the laws of keeping kosher, Shabbat, and the laws of family purity ).

In its section dealing with ethical traits a person should adopt, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states:

A large body of commentaries have appeared on the Shulchan Aruch, beginning soon after its publication.

In fact, Rebbe Nachman claimed that while even a complete simpleton can become a pure and righteous Jew, the ideal study schedule of an extremely scholarly Hasid should include the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible ) with its commentaries, the entire Talmud with its commentaries, the entire Shulchan Arukh, all the Midrashic works, the Zohar and Tikkunei Zohar, the teachings of the Arizal and other kabbalistic works, all over the course of a single year.

He and his disciples were thoroughly familiar with all the classic texts of Judaism, including the Talmud and its commentaries, Midrash, and Shulchan Aruch.

The four-part structure of the Tur and its division into chapters ( simanim ) were adopted by the later code Shulchan Aruch.

* Joseph Caro's Shulchan Aruch, the fundamental work of Halakha, is a condensation of his Beit Yosef and follows the basic structure of the Arba ' ah Turim, including its division into four sections and chapters-Tur's structure down to the siman is retained in the Shulchan Aruch.

For example, the Shulchan Aruch, which traditional Judaism views as authoritative, warns a father to not physically chastise older children, as this will only entice them to hit back, which in its view would be a capital offence ( Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 240: 20 ).

According to the Shulchan Aruch, a person should wash both hands before prayer, based on a tradition requiring ritual purification upon entering the Temple in Jerusalem, in whose absence prayer, in Orthodox Judaism, serves in its place.

The Shulchan Aruch states that this blessing, generally said upon experiencing natural phenomena, should also be recited upon witnessing the chammah bi-tkufatah ( חמה בתקופתה = sun at its turning point ).

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch is a summary of the Shulchan Aruch of Joseph Karo with reference to later commentaries, per the title page of the first edition, " written for God-fearing Jews who are not in a position to study and comprehend the full Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries, and ... composed in a Hebrew that can be easily understood.

This work was explicitly written as a popular text and as such is not at the level of detail of the Shulchan Aruch itself, while generally following its structure.

Ganzfried himself, however, stated that there should be no commentaries on his work, since its point, as indicated by its title, was that it should remain short – and that such commentaries should be appended to the Shulchan Aruch itself, rather than to the Kitzur.

Thus, Isserles, in his responsa as well as in the ד ” מ and his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, served as a supplement and offered his community the code of Law adjusted to its authorities, customs, and needs.

Students of the Shulchan Aruch, particularly in Orthodox Semicha programs, often study the Tur and the Beit Yosef concurrently with the Shulchan Aruch itself: in some editions the two works are printed together, with the Tur occupying one half of each page and the corresponding passage of the Shulchan Aruch occupying the other.

Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro, ( Toledo, 1488 – Safed, 1575 ) was author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch, which is still authoritative for all Jews pertaining to their respective communities.

* Shulchan Aruch ( שולחן ערוך ), a condensation of his decisions in Beth Yosef.

At a young age, Shneur Zalman was asked by his teacher, Dovber of Mezeritch to recodify the Shulchan Aruch of Yosef Karo-incorporating commentaries on that work, as well as subsequent responsa-so that laymen would be able to study Jewish law.

Kehot Publication Society ( 2002 ) has recently begun publication of a Bilingual Edition ; in this work notations appear whenever Shneur Zalman's rulings are at variance with those in Yosef Karo's Shulchan Aruch.

Later codes of Jewish law, e. g. Arba ' ah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher and Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yosef Karo, draw heavily on Maimonides ' work, and in both whole sections are often quoted verbatim.

The basis of re-establishing semikhah had been made into halakha by Rabbi Jacob Berab's Sanhedrin as is recorded by Rabbi Yosef Karo ( author of Shulchan Aruch ).

* The volumes entitled " Kitzur Shulchan Aruch " from Yalkut Yosef, a similar Sephardi work.

# The volumes entitled " Kitzur Shulchan Aruch " from Yalkut Yosef ( based on the rulings of the Sephardi Sage and former Rishon leZion Ovadia Yosef )

Isserles is perhaps best known for his halakhic works, chief among them his notes to the Shulchan Aruch by Yosef Karo.

HaMapah ( המפה ) is written as a gloss to the Shulchan Aruch of Yosef Karo, discussing cases where Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs differ.

Yalkut Yosef ( ילקוט יוסף ; Hebrew: " Collation of works of Ovadia Yosef ") is an authoritative, contemporary work of Halakha, providing a detailed explanation of the Shulchan Aruch as based on the halachic rulings of the former Rishon LeTzion Rav Ovadia Yosef.