Halacha

American  

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

noun

(often lowercase)

plural

Halachas,

plural

Halachoth, Halachot, Halachos

1. Halakhah.

---

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

---

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

It must, of course, be borne in mind that Halacha and Haggada are not separate works; they are two fibres of the same thread.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Karpeles, Gustav

Then said Rabbi Eliezer to the sages, "Let Heaven itself testify that the Halacha is according to my judgment."

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

Haggada, ha-g�′da, n. a free Rabbinical homiletical commentary on the whole Old Testament, forming, together with the Halacha, the Midrash, but from its especial popularity often itself styled the Midrash—also Hagg�′dah, Ag�′dah.—adjs.

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

The best translations—single treatises have been put into modern languages—fail to convey an adequate idea of the discussions and method that evolved the Halacha.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Karpeles, Gustav