Shulhan Arukh (The Prepared Table), Joseph Caro, Venice: Alvise Bragadin, 1565

Four parts in two volumes (vol. I: 9 x 6 1/2 in.; 230 x 165 mm; vol. II: 9 5/8 x 6 3/4 in.; 245 x 173 mm). foliation: 1-136 [10]; 1-131 [1]; 1-79 [1(blank)]; 1-165 [1]= 524 leaves including 7 leaves in facsimile and parts of three other leaves. Woodcut titles with printer's vignette of three crowns. Light soiling, occasional stains. Part I: first several quires expertly remargined; some worming, repairedl; ownership note on penultimate leaf. Part II: some dampstaining at gutter; fols. 123-24, 128-131, lower portion of 125-26 appear in facsimile. Part III: some dampstaining and browning; frequent marginalia; final leaf in facsimile. Part IV: title paige inlaid affecting two lines of text and printer's device, which appear in facsimile; corners rounded; browning and soiling; manuscript notes on final leaves.

first edition of the most authoritative code of jewish law

The magnum opus of Jewish halakha, the law code known as Shulhan Arukh, compiled in the mid-16th century by Joseph Caro remains the standard legal code of the Jewish religion to this day. The Shulhan Arukh follows the order of Jacob ben Asher's Tur and is divided into the same four parts, Orah Hayyim, Yoreh De'ah, Hoshen Mishpat, and Even ha-'Ezer.

The Shulhan Arukh is an abridgement of Caro's magnum opus, the Beit Yosef. Owing to its halakhic intricacy, the Beit Yosef remained inaccessible to all but the most learned scholars. Although written to render the vast Talmudic literature more accessible and to present it in a topical and organized fashion, it is rife with extensive halakhic, theological and philosophical discussions as well as aggadic and kabbalistic content. A boon to scholars, the Beit Yosef did little to provide a ready reference to the practical application of Jewish law. Accordingly, Caro therefore composed this digest of the Beit Yosef, naming it Shulhan Arukh (“Prepared Table”) indicate that he had prepared the material in a manner ready to be consumed immediately.

In general, Caro based his decisions on three earlier pillars of Jewish codification: the 11th-century Spanish authority Rabbi Isaac Alfasi ("Rif"), Maimonides ("Rambam") and Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel ("Rosh," or "Asheri"), the father of the Tur's compiler. In cases of disagreement among those three, Caro usually followed the majority position. Although some Rabbis initially opposed basing religious law on a summary code, rather than going back to the original legal sources, the Shulhan Arukh rapidly came to be accepted in almost all Jewish communities as the most authoritative statement of normative religious law. In recent generations, acceptance of the Shulhan Arukh has come to be regarded as a defining criterion of religious Orthodoxy and traditionalism.

LITERATURE:
Vinograd, Venice 509; Mehlman, 777; Adams J-338