Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

who determines the application of ''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'', the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

religious law Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Examples of religiously derived legal codes include Christian canon law (applicable within a wider theological conception in the church, but in modern times distin ...

s derived from the written and

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are inconclusive, or in those situations where no clear ''halakhic'' precedent exists. The decision of a posek is known as a ''psak halakha'' ("ruling of law"; pl. ''piskei halakha'') or simply a "psak". ''Piskei halakha'' are generally recorded in the

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

literature.

Orthodox Judaism

Poskim play an integral role in

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

. * Generally, each community will regard one of its ''poskim'' as its ''Posek HaDor'' ("posek of the present generation"). * Most rely on the rav in their community (in Hasidic communities, sometimes the

rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

) or the leading posek. Poskim will generally not overrule a specific law unless based on an earlier authority: a posek will generally extend a law to new situations but will not change the Halakhah.

Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

approaches the idea of ''posek'', and

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

in general, somewhat differently: ''poskim'' here apply a relatively lower weighting to precedent, and will thus frequently re-interpret (or even change) a previous ruling through a formal argument. Although there are some ''poskim'' in the Conservative movement (e.g.,

Louis Ginzberg Louis Ginzberg (, ''Levy Gintzburg''; , ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American rabbi and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, contributing editor to numerous articles of '' The Jewis ...

, David Golinkin, Joel Roth, and Elliot Dorff), the rulings of any one individual rabbi are considered less authoritative than a consensus ruling. Thus, the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly maintains a Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, whose decisions are accepted as authoritative within the American Conservative movement. At the same time, every Conservative rabbi has the right of '' mara d'atra'' to interpret Jewish law for his, her, or their own community regardless of the responsa of the Law Committe

Progressive Judaism

Both Reform Judaism, Reform and

Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism () is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish movement based on the concepts developed by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983)—namely, that Judaism as a Civilization, Judaism is a progressively evolving civilization rather ...

do not regard Halakha as binding. Although Reform stresses the individual autonomy of its membership, it never completely abandoned the field of responsa literature, if only to counter its rivals' demands. Even Classical Reformers such as Rabbi David Einhorn composed some. Rabbi Solomon Freehof, and his successor Rabbi Walter Jacob, attempted to create a concept of "Progressive Halacha", authoring numerous responsa based on a methodology laying great emphasis on current sensibilities and ethical ideals. Full text collections of Reform responsa are available on the website of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The Reconstructionist position is that if Jews had formed cohesive communities again, their rulings would be binding, but presently Judaism is in a "post-Halakhic state". Therefore, their basic policy is to allow tradition "a vote, not a veto" in communal and personal affairs.

List of poskim and major works

In chronological order, by the year of birth, and if needed, secondarily, by year of death and surname.

Poskim of past years

1600-1900

* Yoel Sirkis (1561–1640), ''Bach'' *

David HaLevi Segal David ha-Levi Segal (c. 1586 – 20 February 1667), also known as the Turei Zahav (abbreviated Taz []) after the title of his significant ''halakha, halakhic'' commentary on the ''Shulchan Aruch'', was one of the greatest Jews of Poland, Polish ...

(1586–1667), ''Turei Zahav'' * [ abbatai ha-Kohen (1621–1662), ''Shach'' * Avraham Gombiner (1633–1683), ''Magen Avraham'' * Tzvi Ashkenazi (1668-1718), '' Chacham Tzvi'' * Jacob Emden (1797-1776) * Yechezkel Landau (1713–1793), ''Noda Bihudah'' *

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

(1720–1797), ''Gra'' * Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), '' Shulchan Aruch HaRav'' * Aryeh Leib Heller (1745-1812), '' Ketzos HaChoshen'' *

Avraham Danzig Avraham ben Yehiel Michael Danzig (; 1748–1820) was a rabbi, ''posek'' (legal decisor) and Halakha#Codes of Jewish law, codifier, best known as the author of the works of halakha, Jewish law called ''Chayei Adam'' and ''Chochmat Adam''. He is so ...

(1748–1820), '' Chayei Adam'' * Yaakov Lorberbaum (1762-1830), ''Nesivos HaMishpat'' * Moses Sofer (1762–1839), ''Chasam Sofer'' * Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789–1866), ''Tzemach Tzedek'' * Shlomo Ganzfried (1804–1886), '' Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' * Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (1817–1896) * Yehoshua Leib Diskin (1818-1898), ''Maharil Diskin''

Orthodox

* Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1907), '' Aruch HaShulchan'' * Yoseph Chaim of Bagdad (1832–1909), ''Ben Ish Chai'', ''Rav Pealim'' * Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838–1933), '' Mishnah Berurah'', '' Chafetz Chaim'' * Moshe Greenwald (1853–1910), ''Arugath HaBosem'' * Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863–1940), ''Achiezer'' *

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbina ...

(1865–1935) * Eliezer David Greenwald (1867–1928), ''Keren L'Dovid'' * Yaakov Chaim Sofer (1870–1939), ''Kaf HaChaim'' * Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro (1870–1943) * Yonasan Steif, (1877–1958) * Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (1878–1953), ''Chazon Ish'' * Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1878–1966), ''Seridei Eish'' * Yosef Eliyahu Henkin (1881–1973) * Eliezer Silver (1882–1968) * Yehezkel Abramsky (1886–1976) * Yoel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), '' Vayoel Moshe'', ''Divrei Yoel'' * Avraham Chaim Naeh (1890–1954) ''Ketzos HaShulchan'', ''Shiurei Mikveh'', ''Shiurei Torah'' * Zvi Yehuda Kook (1891–1982) * Yaakov Kamenetsky (1891–1986) * Aharon Kotler (1892–1962) * Moshe Feinstein (1895–1986), '' Igrot Moshe'' * Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (1902–1989), ''Minchas Yitzchak'' * Yosef Greenwald (1903–1984), ''Vayaan Yosef'' * Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993) * Yitzchok Hutner (1906–1980) * Chanoch Dov Padwa (1908–2000), ''Cheishev Ho'Ephod'' * Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (1910–1995), ''Minchat Shlomo'' * Yosef Shalom Eliashiv (1910–2012) * Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg (1910–2012) * Pinhas Hirschprung (1912–1998) * Shmuel Wosner (1913–2015), ''Shevet HaLevi'' * Aharon Leib Shteinman (1913–2017) * Ephraim Oshry (1914–2003) * Avraham Shapira (1914–2007) * Eliezer Waldenberg (1917–2006), ''Tzitz Eliezer'' *

Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren (; 3 February 1918 – 29 October 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli rabbi and Talmud#Scholarship, Talmudic scholar. An Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jew and Religious Zionism, Religious Zionist, he was considered a foremost Posek, rabbin ...

(1918–1994) * Chaim Kreiswirth (1918–2001) * Yaakov Yitzhak Neumann (1920–2007), ''Ogiro Be'Oholcho'' *

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

(1920–2013), ''Yabbia Omer'' * Baruch Ben Haim (1921–2005) * Fishel Hershkowitz (1922–2017), Klausenburger '' dayan'' in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

, New York * Hayim David HaLevi (1924–1998), Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, author of the set of halakha ''Mekor Hayim'' * Menashe Klein (1924–2011), Ungvarer Rav; '' Mishneh Halachos'' * Gedalia Dov Schwartz(1925–2020), av beit din of Beth Din of America and the Chicago Rabbinical Council * Nissim Karelitz (1926–2019) *

Nahum Rabinovitch Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch (; 30 April 1928 – 6 May 2020), born Norman Louis Rabinovitch, was a Canadian-Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi and ''posek''. He headed the London School of Jewish Studies from 1971 to 1982, and the ''hesder yeshiva' ...

, (1928–2020) rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe * Chaim Kanievsky (1928–2022) * Mordechai Eliyahu (1929–2010) * Dovid Feinstein (1929–2020) * Ephraim Greenblatt (1932–2014), ''Rivivos Efraim'' * Zalman Nechemia Goldberg (1932–2020), av beit din, rosh yeshiva of Machon Lev, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Talmudit * Aharon Lichtenstein (1933–2015),

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a Hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced T ...

* Meir Brandsdorfer (1934–2009), ''Kaneh Bosem'' * Yechezkel Roth (1936–2021) Karlsburger Rav, author of ''Emek HaTeshuvah'' * Shimon Eider (1938–2007) * Yisroel Belsky (1938–2016) * Yehuda Henkin (1945–2020) * Haim Drukman (1932–2022)

Conservative and Reform

* Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1873–1942) *

(1873–1953), ''The Responsa of Professor Louis Ginzberg'' * Solomon Freehof (1892–1990), ''Reform Jewish Practice and its Rabbinic Background'' * Isaac Klein (1905–1979), ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'' * Jacob Agus (1911–1986), ''Dialogue and Tradition''

Living poskim

* Shmuel Kamenetsky (1924- ), rosh yeshiva, Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia * Yitzchak Abadi (1933- ) * Dov Lior (1933- ) * Avigdor Nebenzahl (1935- ) * Yaakov Ariel (1937- ) * Zephaniah Drori (1937- ) * Zalman Baruch Melamed (1937- ) * Yisrael Ariel (1939- ) * Eliyahu Ben Haim (1940- ) * Ephraim Padwa (1940-) rabbi of Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations * Hershel Schachter (1941- ), rosh yeshiva at RIETS * Shlomo Aviner (1943- ) * Mordechai Willig (1947- ), rosh yeshiva at RIETS * Yitzhak Yosef (1952- ), Chief Sephardic Rabbi of the State of Israel, author of the set Yalkut Yosef * Yitzchak Berkovits (1953- ), rosh kollel The Jerusalem Kollel * Osher Weiss (1953- ), Minchas Osher * Yitzchak Breitowitz (1954- ), Rav, Kehilas Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem *

Eliezer Melamed Eliezer Melamed (; born 28 June 1961) is an Israeli religious-Zionist rabbi, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, the rabbi of the settlement Har Bracha, and the author of '' Peninei Halakha'', a series of '' Halakhic'' works. Biography ...

(1961- ) * Simcha Bunim Cohen (1957- ), prolific author and pulpit rabbi in Lakewood, New Jersey * Yisroel Dovid Harfenes author of ''Yisroel Vehazmanim'', ''Mekadesh Yisroel'' and ''Nishmas Shabos'' * Pinchas Toledano,

hakham ''Hakham'' (or ''Chakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach''; ) is a term in Judaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise th ...

of the

Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the fe ...

of the Netherlands * Gavriel Zinner author of the ''Nitei Gavriel'' series on halakha

References

External links

An introduction to the system of Jewish Law
, aish.com
AskMoses.com
Live answers * , archived from the 200
original
at nishmat.net
Jewish Law Research Guide

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Law Library
Jewish Law: Examining Halacha, Jewish Issues and Secular Law (online journal)
{{Orthodox Judaism Jewish law . Jewish religious occupations Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Rabbis Region-specific legal occupations