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A Jew who was born and raised in New York city might feel like a stranger if he visited a community of Bombay Jews; yet, both communities follow Judaism. The number of Jews is currently estimated to be almost six million in the United States and nearly thirteen million worldwide.
The beliefs and practices
shared by most Jews were gathered together gradually over a long period of time,
from the earlier days recorded in the Bible, the Talmud, and the Midrash through
the dispersing years of the Diaspora after the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed
by the Romans to the founding of the state of Israel. As a combined body of customs, rabbinical law, judicial opinions, recommendations, legislation, and traditions, the Halacha guided Jewish daily living, as well as, Judaic religious practices and beliefs. In the past the Halacha served as enforceable civil and religious law. Today only voluntary consent binds Jewish citizens to the Halacha. Rabbis interpreted Halacha in order to determine the applicability, authority and legality of state laws in regard to Jewish citizens. Modern day Jews are not restricted to Halacha traditions for most of their civil, commercial, and criminal law. Non-Jewish laws, as well as, non-Jewish legal jurisdiction are binding on Jewish citizens. In Israel rabbinical interpretations of the Halacha govern certain areas of personal and family life. Often compared to the Aggadah, a diverse body of rabbinical literature that was narrative and philosophical in nature, the Halacha writers sometimes drew upon the rabbinical literature. The Halacha also consisted of guidelines for the hundreds of commandments (Mitzvot) of the Torah which had been expanded by dialogue and argument about the Mishnah and Talmud (the oral law), commentaries on Talmudic and other rabbinical literature, the she'eloth u-teshuvoth (questions and answers literature), and the Shulkhan Arukh (the Jewish code of law). Different rabbis in diverse Jewish communities often interpret the Halacha guidelines differently, and, it is also the subject of intense Torah study in yeshivas. In the past, the Sanhedrin served as the Jewish legislative body highest court.
Laws enacted and rulings made by the Sanhedrin
were Halacha that was binding on all Jews. The Sanhedrin ceased functioning in
this role after 40 ACE. Judaism now have neither a singular judicial hierarchy
nor an appellate review process. Local rabbinical courts make rulings about
Judaic law that only apply to the local Jewish community...
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