Şulhan Aruh’un Yahudi Hukukundaki Yeri ve Günümüz İsrail Haham Mahkemeleri’ndeki Rolü
The Place of the Shulchan Aruch in Jewish Law and Its Role in Contemporary Israeli Rabbinical Courts

Summary/Abstract: Jewish law (Halacha) is a legal system that encompasses the rules governing the religious, moral, and social life of the Jewish community. One of the most comprehensive examples of this body of knowledge, which has been shaped around halachic works consisting of the Torah, the Talmud, and their commentaries and has survived to the present, is the Shulchan Aruch, written in the 16th century by Rabbi Yosef ben Ephraim Karo (1488-1575). The Shulchan Aruch presents comprehensible legal norms in a systematic structure and addresses all segments of society in simple language, avoiding lengthy debates. The work quickly gained authority among Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities and is even among the fundamental sources used for legal decisions rendered by today’s Israeli Rabbinical Courts. This article examines the life of Yosef ben Ephraim Karo, the emergence of the Shulchan Aruch, its historical context, content, and legal impact on the Rabbinical Courts of Israel. It examines the decisions of the Rabbinical Courts, which hold an influential position in the field of civil law as special courts within Israel’s secular legal system. References to the Shulchan Aruch in those court decisions are evaluated in context, revealing the work’s influence on decisions in cases involving divorce, custody, alimony, and property division. It was found that almost half of the case files examined in this article referenced the Shulchan Aruch. In conclusion, this article emphasizes not only the historical importance of the Shulchan Aruch but also its current legal binding force. It can be said that the Shulchan Aruch continues to be used as a normative reference work in the field of civil law in contemporary Israel and continues to retain its authority.

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