Yoreh De'ah

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Yoreh De’ah

Yoreh De’ah is a section of Jewish law (halakha) written by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, the author of the Arba’ah Turim. Composed around 1300, it forms part of the Arba’ah Turim, a major code of Jewish law. Yoreh De’ah is one of the most diverse parts of halakha and covers many topics outside the Hebrew calendar, finances, torts, marriage, divorce, or sexual conduct.

What it covers
- It deals with a wide range of laws, including kashrut (what foods are permitted or forbidden), circumcision, relations with Gentiles, idolatry, loans and interest, oaths, converts, honoring parents and teachers, charity, Torah study, and handling sacred objects like the Sefer Torah and mezuzah.
- Other topics include Shiluach haken (sending away the mother bird to take the young), yoshon (eating new grain), forbidden mixtures (such as shatnez), pidyon haben (redemption of the firstborn), excommunication, visiting the sick, mourning, priestly tithes, and prohibition of tattooing.

Why it matters
- Yoreh De’ah provides a practical, wide-ranging framework for daily Jewish law outside specific calendar or civil-law areas.
- Later authorities built on its structure. Yosef Karo modeled his Shulchan Aruch, a foundational legal code, after the Arba’ah Turim, so Yoreh De’ah’s structure often refers to the part of the Shulchan Aruch dealing with practical laws.
- It also served as a key source for Ha-Agur (The Collection) by Jacob ben Judah Landau.

See also
- The four sections of Arba’ah Turim: Orach Chayim, Yoreh De’ah, Choshen Mishpat, and Even HaEzer.
- Related topics such as the 613 mitzvot and other rabbinic legal texts.