What foundational legal codification of Jewish law (Halakha), composed by Rabbi Joseph Caro in 16th-century Safed, remains the authoritative legal reference for Jewish practice worldwide?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The Shulchan Aruch (The Set Table)
- Step 1: Rabbi Joseph Caro settled in Safed and authored the extensive commentary Beit Yosef.
- Step 2: He condensed this into the Shulchan Aruch ('The Set Table') in 1563, structured in four main divisions: Orach Chaim, Yoreh De'ah, Even Ha'ezer, and Choshen Mishpat.
- Step 3: With the Ashkenazi glosses (Mappah) of Rabbi Moses Isserles, it became the universal standard code of Halakha.
Answer
The Shulchan Aruch (The Set Table).
Why not the others: The Mishneh Torah was compiled by Maimonides (Rambam) in 12th-century Egypt; Guide for the Perplexed is Maimonides' philosophical work; The Zohar is the central text of Kabbalah attributed to Shimon bar Yochai.
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