Halakha
Halakha or
Halocho is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the Written and Oral Torah. It includes the 613
mitzvot, subsequent talmudic and rabbinic law and the customs and traditions compiled in the
Shulchan Aruch. Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and non-religious life; Jewish religious tradition does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities.
Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but numerous aspects of day-to-day life.
Halakha is often translated as "Jewish Law", although a more literal translation might be "the path" or "the way of walking". The word derives from the root that means
to go or
to walk. Historically, in the diaspora,
halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of civil and religious law. Since the Age of Enlightenment, emancipation, and
haskalah in the modern era, Jewish citizens are bound to
halakha only by their voluntary consent.