Halacha

American  

[hah-law-khuh, hah-lah-khah, hah-law-khaw] / hɑˈlɔ xə, hɑ lɑˈxɑ, ˌhɑ lɔˈxɔ /

noun

(often lowercase)

Halachas, plural Halachoth, plural Halachot, plural Halachos plural

1. Halakhah.

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Halacha British  

/ hɑlɑˈxɑː, hɑˈloxə /

noun

1. 1. Jewish religious law

   2. a ruling on some specific matter

2. 1. that part of the Talmud which is concerned with legal matters as distinct from homiletics

   2. Jewish legal literature in general

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Halachas
  plural
• Halachos
  plural
• Halachot
  plural
• Halachoth
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Halacha

from Hebrew hǎlākhāh way

Example Sentences

In 1960 the Interior Ministry, dominated by Orthodox Jews, ru'ed that the Halacha would determine whether an immigrant could enter Israel under the 1950 Law of Return, which makes any Jew automatically eligible for citizenship.

From Time Magazine Archive

They know the law of Moses and the prophets, and to a small extent the Talmud and Halacha.

From The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela by Benjamin of Tudela

Halachah, Halakah, Halacha, ha-lak′�, n. an amplification of points not explicitly set forth in the Mosaic law, deduced from it by analogy, and arranged in the collection of legal precepts designated Halachoth.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Then came a voice from the Lord and said, 'Both these and those are the words of the living God, but yet the Halacha is according to the school of Hillel.'

From Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala by Various

By imperceptible steps Talmudic Judaism, influenced at once by the enlightened Arabs and the protesting Karaites, departed from the "four ells of the Halacha," and widened its horizon.

From Jewish History : an essay in the philosophy of history by Dubnow, S. M. (Simon Markovich)